Thoughts:
- Probably the ugliest, most braindead loss of the season, and that's saying a lot at this point. Once again we had a good thing going and inexplicably went away from it. There's been some games where I've been absolutely sure Hardy is either tanking or an idiot, and this was one of them. I'm tired of seeing zero adjustments. We let someone called... (checks notes) Ty Jerome, who may or may not be a Warriors ballboy, hang 17 points on us. The dude averages 6ppg.
- I've had it with Clarkson's excruciating overdribbling turnovers. Dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble... and then a forced, lazy, telegraphed pass across the court that a 5 year old could pick off. I was this close to throwing stuff at my TV when he gave away the ball for like the third time in the exact same way. JC was one of the main architects of this stinker and I want to see some accountability. This right here is why he's a career bench player in the NBA. Clarkson cannot be counted on to manage a game in any meaningful way. He has fire but none of the BBIQ and patience you need for that. He also doesn't seem to understand the concept of the "hot hand" unless it's his own.
- Beasley is now shooting under his career average from the perimeter this season on an unthinkably preposterous 8.6 attempts (by far a career high). I understand he has to take wide open shots to keep defenses honest, but the guy is 10-44 in his last five games. That's 23% while putting up nine 3pt shots per game. He's stinking it up while bringing nothing else to the table. Just stop it. Beasley is now shooting us out of games and it looks like Hardy is unable to control him. It's incredible that this is happening while we also have the best 3pt shooter of the NBA on the team. Find me another team in the League that functions like this.
- Sexton received 16 minutes of playing time in this game (for contrast, Rudy Gay played 15). In that time, he managed to score 11 points, dish out 4 assists and grab 2 rebounds. Good things literally happened every time he was out there - he had great chemistry with Lauri, was one of the few guys who managed to put pressure on the basket and tried to play team ball. So what does Hardy do? He plays Beasley, Clarkson and Conley (2-11, 1-8 from the perimeter) instead. Of course.
- I think this game exposed a troubling undercurrent within this team. Despite all the lip service, I don't think all the players have fully bought into the idea that Markkanen is the alpha dog this season. He may score 30 points in the first half, but instead of guys thinking "Great, we have to keep riding him!" some of them go "That's nice, but now it's my turn". This keeps happening. I understand that defenses adjust and teams key in on Lauri more in 2nd halves, and that's why it's sometimes tough to keep him involved if the coach doesn't make adjustments to the offense. And Hardy never does. He's the most hands-off coach I've ever seen.