Warriors, with half a roster, throw game away

Brutal, again.

The Golden State Warriors shook things up in a big way on Wednesday, taking part in a five-team trade that will bring Jimmy Butler to the Bay Area and send Andrew Wiggins to the Miami Heat.

Less than an hour later, the ball was tossed for tip-off between the Warriors and Utah Jazz.

Whether or not it the Butler deal is a good trade for the Warriors can — and will be — heavily debated. But what isn’t up for debate is how depleted it left the roster in the short term.

Needless to say, Butler has not yet joined the team. And not only was Wiggins traded away in the deal, but so too were Kyle Anderson, Dennis Schröder, and Lindy Waters III. To make matters worse, Jonathan Kuminga remains sidelined by injury, and Moses Moody joined him there on Wednesday. And just for good measure, shortly before the tip, Trayce Jackson-Davis was ruled out as well. That left the Warriors with just 10 players … which included all three of their two-way contracts.

Add in the emotions of having just parted with one of the most loved and respected members of the locker room, and expectations were low for the Warriors, even against a not-very-good Jazz team.

Those low expectations were met to start the game and to end the game, with the Warriors suffering a fairly painful 131-128 loss.

They started lethargic — again, expected given the shocking absence of one of their core players. Utah scored the first eight points of the game, and it was 14-2 before Steve Kerr relented and called a timeout. A few minutes later, it was 18-4.

And then Golden State shook things off and started to find their groove on both ends of the court. It was the type of game that featured things like Jackson Rowe making his NBA debut and draining a three in the first quarter, as part of a closing lineup with fellow tow-way contract Pat Spencer, second-year pros Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski, and veteran Kevon Looney, which somehow sparked the Warriors. They erased the big deficit and trailed by just three when the first quarter ended, and early in the second a Santos three capped an 11-0 run and gave Golden State their first lead.

From there they relied on Podziemski, who had a career game, as he picked Utah’s defense apart, scoring buckets and finding open teammates. They pushed the lead up to seven points, before a brutally ugly end to the half made it just a two-point game at the break.

Back-and-forth they went in the third quarter. No team could find any separation or build up a big lead. The Dubs were ice cold from distance but, on the bright side, Spencer provided one hell of a highlight to motivate the team.

It was tied at 87 after three quarters, and a big 12 minutes remained.

That brought about a lot of energy in the arena, as the teams kept trading blows. The Warriors started attacking more, getting in the bonus less than three minutes into the game. That sparked the offense, and soon the Warriors had quietly built up a double-digit lead.

And then it all came crashing down. Steph Curry turned the ball over, and the Jazz responded with a three. Utah blocked a shot, then made another three. They got another shot, then a transition layup, and suddenly it was a single possession game.

After a Curry bucket, Jordan Clarkson made another three to make it a two-point game nearing the one-minute mark. Curry would score a layup on the other end, but Clarkson answered with two free throws. The Dubs were up two with a chance for a two-for one, but Draymond Green’s layup was blocked, which Keyonte George followed up with a massive three to give Utah the lead. All that was left was Curry missing a layup and George sinking a pair of free throws. From there on, it was just window dressing.

Another ugly late loss, but a chance to get back in the win column awaits them tomorrow, as they visit the Los Angeles Lakers. And soon we’ll get to see Butler in a Warriors jersey.

Curry led the way with 32 points, but needed 31 shots to get there and didn’t shoot any free throws until the final seconds. Podziemski, getting the start with the team shorthanded, had a career-high 29 points and shot a whopping 13 free throws, while Buddy Hield (18) and Quinten Post (10) were also in double figures. Looney added 10 rebounds off the bench, while Green had nine assists.