The Warriors’ 111-103 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night swung to a clear turning point.
With Golden State’s 101-100 downfall, Memphis caught Andrew Wiggins on the sidelines and stole. Grayson Allen intercepts Wiggins’ wandering pass and breaks away for once to give the Grizzlies a three-point lead with 1:43 left.
The Warriors never led again.
The Grizzlies trapped Wiggins inside the feet of Warriors coach Steve Kerr, but he surprisingly decided not to name a timeout. Kerr admitted during his video conference after the game that he had to hold on.
“It was my fault,” Kerr told reporters. “Once I caught him, I should have run on the track and timed out, and I did not.”
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Exactly four weeks ago, the Warriors’ inability to invest a time-out cost them a narrow loss. However, this was not a lack of effort, as Kerr made late attempts to call out the timeout in Golden State’s 102-100 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets. Instead, Charlotte forced a springboard and set in motion a series of events that led to the expulsion of Draymond Green and ultimately a buzz loss.
The Warriors are now 8-9 in games that are decided by single figures this season. If Kerr were to time out a month ago and invest the Warriors’ game and the game, Golden State would be two games away from the sixth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.
Instead, the Warriors are ninth in the Western Conference and four games back from their stated goal of avoiding the playoffs for a national season. Time will tell if the margins are more expensive.
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