I Knew This Warriors Season Was In Trouble When...: Ep. 3

There were disastrous moments throughout the Golden State Warriors’ title defense that were mystifying in their nature and ominous in their departure from the high standard of the Golden Empire.

Golden State’s abysmal 11-30 road record was the product of blown leads, failed comebacks, and lethargic starts that crippled the champs. One of those jawdropping defeats came in front of the Miami Heat’s home crowd, when the Dubs frustratingly blew a giant lead in Dade County.

Now maybe in retrospect this defeat shouldn’t be taken as so horrible considering the Heat are in the NBA Finals representing the Eastern Conference against the Denver Nuggets. But the Dubs are a dynasty; these are the types of games they are supposed to hold on to down the stretch.

Some things from this game that should have let me know the Dubs had serious problems to contending:

• LAZY OFFENSE. There was a lotta criticism about them relying too much on the longball to save them in clutch situations. The Dubs were outscored 30-15 in the fourth quarter of this one, combining to go 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.
• TURNOVERS TURNOVERS TURNOVERS. Golden State finished with 20 turnovers for the game, directly leading to 28 Heat points.
• Jordan Poole’s handle betraying him?