Tim Legler believes the Golden State Warriors have put themselves in the driver’s seat in their 2023 NBA playoffs first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors successfully protected their homecourt in Games 3 and 4 to tie the series at 2-2.
Golden State recorded a 126-125 win on Sunday. Although the Kings played better for most of the game and the series, Legler believes the Warriors will have the edge after their Game 4 win. Here’s what the ESPN analyst said on “Get Up:”
“They’ve hung on by a thread couple of times. But they’ve gotten themselves in a position now with all of this playoff experience and being in these big stage moments so many times that they’ve shrunk this series to a best of 3.”
Legler added:
“I think now the message for them is gonna be, forget about this all that, ‘Oh, we’re lucky to survive it,’ No! It’s best of 3 now. We’ve got four rings. How many times have we been in this situation where we’ve had to win a road game, and we’ve gone and done it.”
The Golden State Warriors dominated Game 3 but were fortunate to win Game 4. The Sacramento Kings played poorly in the clutch as they made one bad decision after the other. The Warriors invited trouble down the stretch by allowing the Kings to trim their five-point lead to one with 28.7 seconds left.
Steph Curry missed the lead-extending shot with 14 seconds left, awarding the Kings the final possession of the game down one. However, the Dubs came up clutch defensively, forcing Sacramento to settle for a 3-point jump shot from Harrison Barnes, which he missed badly.
Golden State Warriors need a gritty performance to overcome road woes
The Golden State Warriors’ road woes have followed them into the postseason. They failed to split the Sacramento Kings’ homecourt advantage in the first two games. Game 1 was a close encounter, but the Kings were better in the clutch and nailed a 126-123 win.
Game 2 was dominated by Sacramento, which ended in a 114-106 win. Golden State struggled to keep its turnovers in check in both those games. The Warriors committed 35 across the two contests, which proved decisive in the eventual scheme of things.
Golden State has cleaned up this issue by committing 11 TOs apiece in the last two games. If the Warriors continue to limit this problem on the road in Game 5, they will be favored to take a 3-2 lead back home before Game 6.
The Golden State Warriors need to dig into all the playoff experience they possess to overcome this Sacramento Kings team that has taken the league by storm this year. They have been just as good, if not better, during the playoffs, and their efforts so far have shown for it.
