SAN FRANCISCO – Losing the Robin to the Warriors’ Batman was a big enough blow. But being without a generational talent and all-time great for two months has kept the Warriors’ offense stuck in the mud all too often.
Since Feb. 1, the Warriors rank 25th in points per game (111.3), 24th in field goal percentage (45.9 percent) and 26th in 3-point percentage (33.7) for a 111.4 offensive rating, which ranks 23rd in the NBA during that span.
To barely beat the 17-win Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, the Warriors did shoot 52.9 percent from the field, yet they were hamstrung by 26 turnovers and a 33.3 percent 3-point percentage. Generating easy offense has to be the priority without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and so many others.
That’s where the free-throw line became the Warriors’ best friend against Brooklyn, and why they need to be frequent visitors to the charity stripe, straying away from their past trends.
“If you can get to the line, it just sets everything up,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thursday after practice. “You get easy points and it sets your defense up. So, it’s a big deal. It’s not something that we do particularly well, but last night we got to the line a lot. It definitely helped our defense.”
The Warriors on Wednesday night attempted 36 free throws, which was their third-most this season. And they made 28, also their third-most this season. Kristaps Porzingis led the way for the Warriors with 10 free throw attempts and nine makes.
To him, emphasizing free throws is all matchup-based. Playing a defense that switches on everything like the Nets do called for more trips to the line. It certainly can call for the same against the Wizards on Friday night, too.
Porzingis scored 30 points and went 13 of 14 from the free-throw line the last time the Warriors played the Wizards just 11 days ago. The Warriors as a team went 24 of 28 on free throws in that win.
“It does slow the game down. But sometimes that’s what we need, especially with me on the floor,” Porzingis said. “I feel like that’s an advantage we can get, we can generate.”
Warriors fans for nearly two decades have watched Curry be a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses because of how much he moves and his ability to be a threat anywhere on the court. Standing maybe a foot taller than him, what Porzingis provides is a whole new mismatch nightmare.
“We really like playing through KP,” Pat Spencer said. “He’s an animal on the switches.”
His height alone allows him to shoot over just about anybody. Porzingis also is patient with the ball in his hands and never gets sped up. Similar to when the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler at last season’s trade deadline, Golden State found itself with someone in the post who can either score, find an open teammate or get to the free-throw line at an elite level.
The Warriors have three wins with Porzingis playing, and in those three wins, he has taken 14, seven and 10 free throws. It took him five games to reach 14 free throws in a game as a Warrior. The only other Warriors to reach that mark this season are Butler three times and Curry once.
“Just gives us another guy, another weapon, that we can throw the ball to,” Spencer said.
Behind Porzingis in the free-throw department in the last game was Brandin Podziemski, who has had his fair share of ups and downs at the line. His lowest point came on March 9 in a terrible loss to the tanking Utah Jazz, where Podziemski missed all four of his free throws, with all four being crucial moments in the fourth quarter.
After the loss, Kerr had his player’s back and knew he’d bounce back. Podziemski has done exactly that. He was a perfect 8 of 8 last game and has gone 39 of 47 (83 percent) at the free-throw line since those four rough misses.
The third-year pro must be more nifty than shifty around the basket. He isn’t the biggest, the fastest or the most athletic. Instead, Podziemski is learning how to better use the whistle to his advantage.
“Well, he’s figuring out the rules,” Kerr said. “You can see him doing the foul drawing stuff. He’s a clever player in that regard. He’s understanding how the league operates and manipulating some fouls. If you can do it, you do it.”
Looking back at the tape, Podziemski clearly manipulated a foul call for his first two free throws on a mid-range jump shot. That undoubtedly was the case four different times he earned a whistle and made free throws as his reward. Outside of Curry, Butler and Porzingis, Podziemski is the only other Warrior to reach 10 free throw attempts in a game twice this season.
Sometimes it can be playing through a unicorn. Other times, it can be taking a page out of the reigning NBA MVP’s handbook. However, it gets the job done; the free-throw line has to keep being the Warriors’ best friend to generate as much easy offense as possible.