Severely Disappointing

Aloha,

In a season of disappointing losses, this might be at the top. We played with winning energy but couldn’t stop shooting ourselves in the foot. 10 Warriors offensive rebounds were turned into 21 points but 11 of those points came down the stretch. Those were the back breakers. And of course 11 missed free throws. We lose by 2. This happens over and over again. There was a few really bad bounces that led to some 3’s but still we need to stop beating ourself.

One might look at the stat line and think LeBron had a good game. He didn’t really. . 26 points but on 27 shots. I liked his rebounding and playmaking but his shot selection just was regrettable. 2 for 15 in the 2nd half. One thing that is maddening is LeBron gets hit without a foul being called more then any player in the league. We don’t win many games when LeBron takes 10 3’s. Some sloppy turnovers, a couple missed bunnies and missing that free throw with the game on the line. On defense he had trouble with Kuminga. I remember one sequence where LeBron watched Kuminga stroll by him of a put back 2, didn’t even try to put a body on him.

AD played a good defensive game but disappeared for the 4th game in a row on offense. We cannot win if he goes 5 for 13 and 6 for 10 from the line. He had success when he attacked but He settled far to much and missed a bunch of little jumpers. He also missed some bunnies.

I thought Russ had a good game. Yes he still missed a few layups but he only took a couple of jump shots. Had only one turnover and generally played under control, that is how we need him to play.

So how were we still in this game?
Our big 3, our 3 guys 23 and younger. Austin, THT and Malik all played with great energy on both sides of the ball. Austin’s block on Klay was the defensive play of the game. He also went 5 for 5 for 13 points. THT has been shooting much better lately. He has 17 with 3 for 5 from 3. Add in 7 boards and 3 assists. What I like is he’s not forcing anything. He also played well on D for the most part. Great game. Malik had 12 and played with some great energy. Over all the 3 kids out scored the Warriors bench 42 to 20.

Have to give a shot out to Avery as well. When he was assigned to Steph, and gave him all he could handle.

So going forward, this is the way we have to play. They actually looked connected. We have to give as many minutes to the young guys as possible. I think they actually energize the vets. All 3 will make mistakes but we can win some games with their energy. It’s tough loss when you beat yourself.