Warriors vs. Pacers keys revisited

Well, that was pretty disappointing. The Golden State Warriors had a nice opportunity to have a very productive home stand, and for 36 minutes they looked in control against the Indiana Pacers.

Then they fell apart in the fourth quarter, and lost 104-95.

But there was a lot building to that. They didn’t take as commanding of a lead as they needed to against a good Indy team that was down two of their best players in Victor Oladipo and TJ Warren. Safe to say when you lose a rough game, you probably didn’t hit on your keys to the game.

The key: Take advantage of the fact that the Warriors had an off day on Monday while the Pacers played and traveled.

The outcome: To the Warriors credit, they didn’t get out-hustled. Not at all. But Indiana had a lot of energy despite the back to back, and it didn’t create as big of an advantage as you would have hoped for.

So the Warriors shouldn’t hold their head about their energy level, but it wasn’t a difference maker at all.

Grading the key: 5 out of 10.

The key: Bench mob needs to once again win the second unit battle.

The outcome: The Warriors were without Eric Paschall, who missed the game due to the health and safety protocol. And it was painfully apparent.

The second unit struggled mightily, with the Warriors getting outscored by 14 points in Damion Lee’s minutes, and 13 in Kent Bazemore’s.

It wasn’t dynamic, on either end of the court.

Grading the key: 2.5 out of 10.

The key: Don’t let Myles Turner’s presence keep the offense from being aggressive.

The outcome: The Warriors were at times aggressive, but not successful in their aggression. They were clearly impacted by Turner, and tried to work their way around him, even through aggression.

Turner blocked five shots, and it felt like twice that many. While it didn’t keep the Warriors from being aggressive, it kept them from being good, and that’s just as important.

Grading the key: 4 out of 10.

The key: Hold Victor Oladipo to an inefficient night shooting.

The outcome: Oladipo was a late scratch, and didn’t play.