MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dennis Schroder got traded from a team that’s trying to lose to one failing to put the winning ways of their early-season halcyon days back in the bottle.
If they play like they did on Thursday, the Warriors’ bottle is shattered.
The 51-point margin of defeat is tied for the fourth-biggest blowout loss in franchise history.
After starting 12-3 this season, the Warriors have now lost nine of their past 11 games, sliding squarely into play-in territory. Their latest loss was a 144-93 atrocity in which the Grizzlies completely outclassed them from start to finish. The Warriors (14-12) waved the white flag halfway through the third quarter after they fell behind by 46.
The brutal blowout was a tough welcome for Schroder, who had two practices with Golden State to acclimate himself. Schroder missed nine straight shots and finished with five points, five assists and four turnovers on 2-for-12 shooting.
Steph Curry scored two points and the Warriors got outscored by 42 in Draymond Green’s 19 minutes. They watched as the FedEx Forum crowd stood up and danced to “Whoop That Trick” in the fourth quarter before hitting Beale Street early. As a team, the Warriors shot 35.6% from the floor and surrendered 27 3-pointers.
It took Schroder less than two minutes to get into the box score, as he drilled a step-back deuce off a pick-and-roll. It was the type of anti-Warriors play the team hopes to introduce as a counterbalance to their pace-and-space, movement offense that emphasizes 3s and layups.
But that bucket was one of just four made field goals in a pitiful opening quarter for the Warriors.
Steve Kerr rejiggered his starting lineup to include Schroder and Draymond Green in an effort to set the defensive tone. Instead, Memphis blasted the Warriors 37-15 in the first 12 minutes. Green left Santi Aldama open in the corner to help on a Scotty Pippen Jr. drive, resulting in a corner 3 as the first-quarter horn sounded.
The Grizzlies brought all of the force to the game. They implemented a full-court press in bursts, and Ja Morant picked Schroder’s pocket at one point. The Grizzlies denied Curry the ball and pushed the pace even after Warriors makes — rare as they were.
The Warriors coughed up eight turnovers while going 4-for-22 from the floor in the first quarter. Schroder missed his next eight shots after his first hit, including two clean looks from behind the arc.
Like they did earlier this week against Dallas, the Warriors lost the game in the first quarter. That doesn’t mean things got better after the opening frame.
After Green picked up his third foul seconds into the second quarter, Kerr tried super-small lineups with both Schroder and Brandin Podziemski with Kyle Anderson at center. As those units struggled to get stops, Memphis’ lead ballooned to 30.
At that point, Green picked up his fourth foul. He’d gotten hit by Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey in the head earlier in the game, thought a different foul on him went uncalled, jostled for position on the block with Edey constantly and gotten stuffed by Ja Morant before locking up Edey in transition. After the foul, the two centers went nose-to-nose for a moment.
The Grizzlies opened the second half on an 8-0 run. There was no lifeline for the Warriors, who fell behind by 57 at worst. Curry took seven shots in his 24 minutes, misfiring on all of them. Kerr didn’t even bother playing him or Green for the last 17 minutes of the game.
The Warriors never expected Schroder to solve all their problems. But it’s possible their problems are deeper than anyone could have thought.
