Draymond Green cut a frustrated figure as he addressed the media on Saturday, May 6, following the Golden State Warriors’ significant defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Throughout the course of the game, the Lakers continued to attack the paint, pressuring the Warriors’ interior defenders and causing them to commit multiple shooting fouls.
According to Draymond Green, the number of times the referees stopped the game to send the Lakers to the line was ‘frustrating,’ and it clearly had an impact on the Warriors’ rhythm and offensive flow.
“The game stopped,” Draymond Green said. “They were going to the free-throw line every time. It is what it is; game over now. It don’t matter if I’m satisfied. Don’t matter. It’s frustrating.”
The Lakers amassed 37 free-throw attempts throughout their May 6 contest, yet the large majority of those ‘gimmes’ came in the second and third quarters, with their free-throws per period looking like this:
- 1st quarter: 6 attempts, 4 makes
- 2nd quarter: 15 attempts, 11 makes
- 3rd quarter: 12 attempts, 9 makes
- 4th quarter: 4 attempts, 4 makes.
On the flip side, the Warriors seldom saw themselves get to the charity stripe, ending the contest with 17 attempts at the line – 20 attempts less than the Lakers.
Stephen Curry felt foul calls hurt Warriors’ rhythm
It would appear that Stephen Curry agrees with Draymond Greens’ assertation that the Lakers’ multiple free-throw attempts hurt the Warriors’ ability to find a rhythm and offensive flow throughout their game three contest.
“I mean, yeah, especially on the road, and the way they try to defend us, when the game stops, it’s not in our favor,” Stephen Curry said. “So, you just gotta understand momentum. Two different styles of play, it all matters.”
Curry added:
“So, there was a turnover when me and Klay (Thompson) had a little miscommunication in transition, and then a barrage of whistles, and all that stuff, changed the momentum. Quickly. That was really the point where it felt like they got life. They finished off the quarter strong. It carried over to the second half, so we gotta respond.”
As you would expect, it was the Lakers’ two star players who did the most damage at the free-throw line. Anthony Davis scored 11 of his 25 points from the charity stripe, while LeBron James earned himself seven of his 21 points in a similar fashion.
Of course, it makes sense that LeBron and Davis would dominate their team’s attempts from the line, as both play a bruising interior game and command an increased amount of attention for the opposing defense, which can sometimes lead to overzealous swipes or increased physical contact.
Nevertheless, the Warriors failed to reassert themselves into the game and fell prey to the Lakers’ physicality, despite Darvin Ham opting to utilize a smaller line-up for stretches by implementing Lonnie Walker IV into the rotation for 24 minutes of playing time.
Fortunately for the Warriors, they won’t have to wait long to try and exact their revenge, and both teams are scheduled to play game four of their series on Monday, May 8, at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles.
