After blowing a 20-point second half lead against the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night, Tuesday practice at Golden State Warriors headquarters was one of the most important sessions the team has had yet.
Head coach Mark Jackson spoke to the media (including myself) afterwards, discussing how the team must move forward after the heartbreaking loss, and what he could have done differently to come out of the game with a win:
Coach began talking about the practice a a whole:
“We had a great practice, guys got after it, feel like we got better, and we learned, we learned for what took place last night.”
Even the last few minutes I was there, it was all business. Not a whole lot of smiles after a loss like Monday’s. Jackson was asked about his team’s effort at the end of the game, which he had little to be positive about:
It’s glaring, we didn’t fight they were down, you know, 17 points and sprinting after they turned the ball over, making extra effort plays.They had no quit in them. And when we had an opportunity to grab the rope, we let it go.
Sometimes as positive as you want to be, you have to be brutally honest with the guys, individually and collectively, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Coach was also asked what he would have done differently in the last eight minutes on Monday:
“We made mistakes, and as a coach you hold yourself responsible, it’s not just the players that gave a lead away in the fourth quarter, we all did…At the end of the day, I have to find five guys that are willing to close out ballgames.”
May fans have wondered if a change would do the W’s good, and Jackson was asked about making a change ‘for the sake of change.’ He was having nothing of it:
“No. To me that’s fake hustle coaching and I don’t believe in it.”
The Warriors are obviously working out the kinks still, unfortunately they’re having to do so on the fly. Hopefully it will all start to click soon before the W’s record is too insurmountable to make the playoffs.
For more on the W’s, head over to Golden State of Mind.