Four Reasons Why The Golden State Warriors Are Falling Apart

“We have to take care of the basketball”

If you didn’t read that statement above while hearing Mark Jackson’s voice in your head, you haven’t watched a lot of pre-game or post-game pressers with Jackson behind the mic. This has been a recurring theme with this team, and lots of turnovers inevitably lead to teams hanging around in games they would otherwise be out of when they convert those giveaways into easy baskets on the other end.

Golden State may rank in the top three in turnover differential, but they also currently rank 27th out of 30 when you look at how many turnovers they give up per game. I think we can all agree that it’s never a good thing to give the ball up 15 times per game. If you factor in the amount of times they give the ball back to the opposition on quick possessions where they put up an ill-advised shot with plenty of time left on the shot clock (looking at you Klay Thompson), and that probably is closer to 20.

Mar 02, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jarrett Jack (2) brings the ball up court during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

That’s 20 extra possessions the opponent is getting per game, and while I don’t have the data in front of me, I’m willing to bet that many of those possessions lead to points, especially since their defensive efficiency has fallen off a cliff.

So who’s responsible? When you look at the stat sheet, it’s not hard to figure out. The top four culprits also have the top four highest usage rates for the team, so while you might expect Stephen Curry, David Lee, Klay Thompson and Jarret Jack to be at the top of the list, you’d like to see them lower their numbers so they’re not accounting for 10 turnovers per game as a group. Add in 1.5 turnovers per game from Harrison Barnes and Carl Landry and you’re right around that 15 per game mark when you factor in the one or two per game from bench players like Festus Ezeli or Draymond Green.

In short, this is something they have to address as a team, and it’s up to each player individually to be responsible with the ball and understand that a botched pass here and there isn’t something you can just write off as an isolated bonehead mistake — not when it’s affecting the team to this degree.

As far as Mark Jackson’s role in all of this, I’m not sure what else he can do other than make the team run suicides in practice every time something like this happens, and even that wouldn’t be a prudent move for a team that seems to be running out of gas as the season wears on. What he does need to do is start hammering the whole accountability aspect of this home, and a little tough love wouldn’t hurt in that regard.