What went wrong for Warriors in Game 6 loss, and how it can change for Game 7 against Kings

The playoffs are supposed to bring out a different beast in a true contender. Yet the Warriors have looked every bit their regular-season selves during this first-round series against the Sacramento.

A starting lineup adjustment, tighter screws on the turnovers and fight on the boards helped the Warriors take a 3-2 series lead and looking primed to close out in the comfort of their own home. Instead, the Warriors fell back into their worst habits.

They were complacent, sloppy and perhaps a bit entitled as they watched the Kings beat them at their own game on their home floor, 118-99, sending the series to a Game 7 at Golden 1 Center. For the Warriors, this series has mimicked their regular season woes: Smart enough to beat anyone, bogged down by failure to execute, drawn to the .500 win line.

But a win-or-go-home game is familiar territory to the core players in the Warriors’ locker room. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney savor the playoff chess match that can often make an evenly-matched series go the distance. And the Kings had a few adjustments in Game 6 they can counter for Game 7.

“A loss exposes a lot of things,” Curry said. “When you look at the film and you see where the improvements need to be made…You’ve got to be honest with yourself regarding what it was. I felt like we were all on the same page yesterday when we were preparing for the game and understanding what the task at hand was. Just didn’t do it.”

Here’s a look at what went wrong in Game 6 and how the Warriors can turn it around in Game 7.

Kings go small

Alex Len, a surprise Kings contributor from the start of this series, did not play a single second on Friday night. That’s because head coach Mike Brown opted to go small and lean into a full-blown offensive attack.

That meant more Trey Lyles and Terence Davis and a whole lot less Len, Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell. Mitchell has been the primary defender on Curry, but played only 11 minutes on Friday. Barnes played 15 minutes. Lyles played 27 minutes having averaged 14 minutes this series before and Davis, who had brief stints in just two games this series, played 20 minutes.

The outcome: A spaced floor for Sacramento’s scorers to shoot with plenty of space to find lanes and attack the rim. Their backs against the wall, the Kings decided to sacrifice some defense for a full offensive effort.

“Even though we were ahead at the end of the first quarter by two, it didn’t feel great,” Kerr said. “You kind of sense that they were getting better shots than we were.”

It was Brown’s answer to the Warriors blowing up center Domantas Sabonis’ dribble handoff action that brought them plenty of 3-point shooting looks during the regular season. The Kings entered Game 6 shooting 30 percent from 3.

The small-ball spacing helped the Kings shoot 38% from 3 and threw the Warriors’ defense into disarray as the Kings had little resistance scoring. Malik Monk scored 28 points, primarily using the space to get to the rim with ease. De’Aaron Fox feasted at the rim, too, scoring 26 points.

“It was kind of a new lineup that we haven’t seen this series, and kind of had to make some adjustments in how we were going to guard it and guard the pick-and-roll and different things like that,” Kevon Looney said. “We had been playing a certain way the whole series. It took some adjustments to finally get used to, and it’s something we have to watch film and see how we can execute better.”

A turn of events on the boards and turnovers

Looney’s pair of 20-plus rebound games this series helped the Warriors overcome an early two-game deficit this series. His offensive rebounding throughout has helped Golden State generate a second-chance opportunity advantage.

That advantage disappeared in Game 6. The Kings out-rebounded them 53-to-42 and 18-to-11 on the offensive boards. The Warriors also turned the ball over 19 times.

“That’s the series, right?” Kerr said. “They had 18 offensive boards. We had 19 turnovers they turned into 23 points. But they earned that. They earned that with their defense and we did not execute very well in those areas and paid the price.”

Free throw issues

The Warriors managed to get to the line 35 times but made only 25 of their free throws. A significant disparity as the Warriors found themselves hovering around a 10-point deficit for most of the game.

Curry went 6-of-9 from the free throw line.

“It happens,” he said with a smile. “That’s basketball. Again, next-play mentality.”

Jordan Poole

Poole has struggled all series, and Game 6 was no different. He had seven points, going 2-for-11 unable to find his touch around the rim while battling contact.

“We’ve all been there,” Thompson said. “I’ve had terrible slumps during the playoffs, the Olympics, at the highest level. Jordan is only 23 years old. We lose as a team, we win as a team. It wasn’t just on JP tonight. He could come out and get 30 effortlessly on Sunday.”

It all went bad for the Warriors on Friday. But they see opportunity for all that went wrong to go right on Sunday.