SI:AM | The Warriors Are in Deep Trouble After Another Road Loss
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. The NHL playoffs got off to a great start last night with two overtime games.
In today’s SI:AM:
🔝 What will the Panthers do at No. 1?
If you're reading this on SI.com, you can sign up to get this free newsletter in your inbox each weekday at SI.com/newsletters.
More of the same from Draymond
The Kings have the Warriors right where they want them.
Golden State needs to win at least one game in Sacramento during this series if it is going to advance out of the first round and as one of the worst road teams in the NBA this season (11–30), that seems unlikely. After losing the first two games of the series, it’s even more unlikely.
The turning point of Game 2 was Draymond Green’s ejection in the fourth quarter after he stomped on the chest of Kings big man Domantas Sabonis. With 7:03 left to play, Sabonis was knocked to the floor while battling for an offensive rebound. He wrapped his arms around Green’s leg while on the floor, and Green freed himself before stomping his foot on Sabonis’s chest and then appearing to put his full body weight on Sabonis to jump over him.
Green was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game. The Warriors were down 91–87 at the time, though they managed to tie the game at 93 a minute later with just about six minutes left. But from that point on, the Kings outscored the Dubs by eight to close out a 114–106 win. With Green, the Warriors’ defensive anchor, on the floor, Sacramento scored eight points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. After Green was ejected, the Kings scored 23 points over the final seven minutes.
This isn’t the first time Green has done something foolish to get himself kicked out of a game, and Rohan Nadkarni writes he’ll need to be careful over the rest of the series not to let the Kings goad him into doing it again:
Green himself is no stranger to extracurricular activities during the playoffs. He is constantly in people’s faces, either yelling, flexing or aggressively clapping. Obviously these are not the same as getting physically involved with a player in a manner that could hurt them. But—once more for emphasis, BUT—Green understands the art of trying to take players out of their game. From the opening tip he’s engaging in mental warfare with everyone from the players on the floor, to the refs, to the fans in the stands. Green knows the value of trying to get inside someone’s head. (He’s also taken a few questionable fouls in his day, too.) And opponents know Dray is always on edge, which means they will be willing to push the envelope if they can push Green over the line. Is it cheap? Yeah, probably. But it’s also the reality of the situation, and Draymond has to be prepared for it.
The Warriors were already going to need all the help they could get if they were going to pull off the upset. Their road struggles this season were completely baffling. They actually had a better record at home this season (33–8) than last season (31–10) but were a dismal 11–30 on the road. The most glaring difference: Their defense was terrible in road games this season, allowing 10.8 more points per game than in home games.
It’s entirely possible the Warriors will come out in Games 3 and 4 looking like a totally different team now that the series has shifted 90 miles down I-80 to San Francisco, but it won’t matter if they can’t figure out their road issues in one of the possible two remaining games in Sacramento.
As for the Kings, Game 2 was an impressive, hard-fought victory on a night when they didn’t play their best offensive basketball. They made just nine of 38 three-point attempts (23.7%) but managed some timely buckets down the stretch. Davion Mitchell hit a three from the corner to make it 112–103 with 1:18 left that De’Aaron Fox said “was honestly the nail in the coffin.”
The best of Sports Illustrated
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
- Albert Breer has an update on the Panthers’ deliberations over which quarterback to take at No. 1.
- Conor Orr argues the Eagles made a smart decision to sign Jalen Hurts to a contract extension when they did.
- Tom Verducci looks at the biggest change in baseball this season under MLB’s new rules: the jump in stolen bases.
- Pat Forde has a list of the 10 most significant story lines in college basketball this offseason.
- Jacob deGrom had a no-hitter going through four innings before he was pulled with an injury.
- The WAC and Atlantic Sun Conference are merging to form a new college football league.
- Three World Series–winning former Red Sox players were among the celebrities who ran the Boston Marathon.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Reds outfielder Jake Fraley’s diving catch in right.
4. Cam Johnson’s ferocious dunk against the Sixers.
3. Kings captain Anže Kopitar’s game-tying goal in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime against the Oilers and Alex Iafallo’s overtime game-winner for Los Angeles.
2. Wild defenseman Brock Faber’s diving play to save a goal in double overtime against the Stars.
1. Ryan Hartman’s game-winning goal for Minnesota just a few minutes later.
SIQ
When the NBA’s owners voted on this day in 2008 to allow the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City, which teams’ owners were the only two to vote against the move?
Yesterday’s SIQ: How did Jackie Robinson pick up his first hit with the Dodgers on April 17, 1947?
- A bunt single
- A ground rule double
- A triple
- A two-run homer
Answer: A bunt single. Robinson reached base on a bunt down the third base line in the fifth with the Dodgers leading 10–2. Attempting to bunt for a hit with your team up by eight runs would probably be considered a violation of baseball’s unwritten rules today.
New York Daily News writer Dick Young described the play as a “strong one-bounce bunt” that glanced off the bare hand of Braves third baseman Bob Elliott as he attempted to field it. Robinson, who had reached on an error when attempting a sacrifice bunt in his history-making game two days earlier, needed to wait for the official scorer’s decision before learning if he had actually picked up his first National League hit. But it was indeed ruled a hit, and apparently rightfully so. Harold C. Burr wrote in the Brooklyn Eagle it “was a legitimate hit all the way.”
