Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic actually gave their locker room gold chain to Jama Mahlalela after the win at Chase Center the other night. The Canadian assistant, who went back home and signed with the Raptors after being tapped by the Warriors for a few seasons, was tasked with scouting Golden State. He did such a masterful job, he essentially broke the Dubs.
But, I kid. I think?
What was Mahlalela’s strategy? Well, Steve Kerr on the podium after the loss to the Raptors obviously pointed to the transition cross-matching of Scottie Barnes taking Stephen Curry directly into the post, but that was only one part of it — although it was the one that caused Kerr to call his second timeout in the first five-and-a-half minutes (See? Steve is trying everything he can!). In fact, it was two Barnes post-ups in transition in a row versus Curry that blew a hole in the GSW hull of that game.
But the other part of it was… (drum roll) Jama picked on Jonathan Kuminga and his, well, third-year defensive decision-making skills. In those first five-plus minutes, you can see the game plan unfold in the halfcourt set where Immanuel Quickley would come off some interference (i.e., some sort of screen) and pop out before Kuminga could react. And when he finally did, the Raps’ offense had the Dubs on their heels, essentially 5-on-4 at that point.
The other problem with JK the last two games is that he opened the game with a turnover. In the one against Toronto, he threw the first made-basket-inbound to Steph instead of the designated play initiator to start out, Andrew Wiggins (who you can see in the tape initiate the offense after that, a sign that Kerr didn’t want to wear out Steph right away).
And finally the irony of all this is Wiggins. Jama was his personal coach as you can see in this article’s picture. And his defense is actually better than Kuminga’s, so… well, we just found out Wiggs is starting in Chicago.
As far as the Pelican game goes, in the first three minutes before Kerr calls another early timeout, you can see the turnovers by the vets (Steph and Klay Thompson), the hero shots by Steph and one rushed one by Klay, the aforementioned opening turnover by Kuminga, but also the non-confidence silly mishandle by Wiggins and, most glaringly, team transition defense. Klay even remembered how they didn’t get back to help on Scottie the game before, and left CJ McCollum for a three because he saw Curry was cross-matched on Zion Williamson 🤦🏻♂️
Which leads to Draymond Green’s return. And that’s the ultimate paradox, right? How can you judge this team — barring an injury (knock on wood) to Green, it literally will not “stay the same” as Steph alluded to on the podium, and yet that’s what fandom does. Fear spreads and people start to accepting the negative thought that their brain transmitted to them for consideration, that this exact state of the team will be the exact state as we approach the trade deadline.
That’s almost the same amount of time as when we last saw Draymond in a Warriors uniform.
I should add that Darko hesitatingly revealed that Jama got the chain. He knew that it might get out and the Warriors coaching staff would know it was “an inside job”, so to speak. Jama knows the Warriors’ weaknesses and he exploited them. Let’s just hope he didn’t actually break them (again, highly doubtful considering the absences of Draymond and Chris Paul and Gary Payton II — who would instantly solve the “quiet” defensive issues).
👍👍💛💙