MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Warriors played so poorly in the first half of Monday night’s game against the Grizzlies that Steve Kerr didn’t need to watch the final two quarters.
An official ultimately decided he wouldn’t let him anyway.
A fiery Kerr was ejected after getting slapped with two quick technical fouls for arguing with an official at the end of the first half. Kerr seemed to be upset after no call was made when De’Anthony Melton contested Jordan Poole’s layup at the buzzer.
But that play surely couldn’t have been the only thing Kerr was frustrated about in the Warriors’ 123-95 loss to the Grizzlies, who were without star Ja Morant.
Playing without Stephen Curry (foot), Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Otto Porter Jr. (rest), Golden State had an embarrassing first-half performance, shooting a paltry 27.3% overall and 23.5% from three as they trailed the Grizzlies by 26 points heading into the locker room.
And things didn’t get much better in the second half with associate head coach Mike Brown at the helm. The closer the Warriors got to the Grizzlies was within 18 points.
The lone — albeit insignificant — bright spot in the otherwise lousy game was the return of Andre Iguodala, who had missed 21 games with a back injury.
The Memphis crowd loudly booed Iguodala when he checked into the game midway through the first quarter. On his first possession, the 38-year-old veteran hit a corner three before turning and shrugging at the crowd.
Iguodala also had a driving dunk in the third quarter and finished with six points and three rebounds in about 16 minutes.
Jordan Poole led the team 25 points, and Moses Moody added 18 off the bench.
This game seemed like an appropriate end to an overall disappointing 1-4 road trip during. Over the last week, Golden State has dropped games to the now 20-win Orlando Magic, the mediocre Atlanta Hawks and the woeful Washington Wizards.
Nothing seems to be easy for the Warriors, losers of six of their last seven games, who are playing without an injured Curry for the foreseeable future.
Despite the recent skid, Kerr remains optimistic the Warriors will be able to figure out their issues by the time the playoffs roll around. But with only six games remaining in the regular season, time is of the essence.
A lot of Kerr’s hope relies on Curry returning to his dominant self and reinvigorating the lineup with Green and Thompson.
“I truly believe that there’s gonna come a point whether it’s the last couple of games of the regular season or Game 1 of the playoffs where we’re going to have everybody healthy and we’re gonna come together and it’s gonna click,” Kerr said before the game.
The Warriors will play at least two more games without Curry, starting with Wednesday’s home game against the Suns, aka the league’s best team, and Friday’s matchup against the fifth-seeded Utah Jazz.
