One tough loss not proof Warriors are pastry patsies, main course yet to come

They will acquire this sequence, just about definitely, given that no NBA crew has ever won immediately after staying down 3- in a playoff sequence, but stiffer bodily exams lie in advance, like in Sport 5 on Wednesday, and then in the upcoming round against Minnesota or Memphis.

There were being several reasons for the Warriors’ 126-121 decline Sunday, but let us go to Steve Kerr for a quickie assessment:

“They ended up the most actual physical group,” the Warriors’ coach claimed. “We didn’t deserve to gain.”

It wasn’t a remarkable butt-kicking. The Warriors basically outrebounded the Nuggets 36-33 and minimal the Nugs to a mere 5 offensive rebounds. But Kerr felt his crew bought out-toughed. Which is dying in the playoffs.

Never consider Kerr?

“They performed with extra pressure, at equally ends of the floor,” Warriors forward Draymond Green mentioned.

The Cupcake Query is nothing new to the Warriors, or to teams on this still left edge of The us. The Showtime Lakers, at present showcased in a extremely fictionalized Television sequence, often fought that rep. Magic and Kareem and the L.A. fellas always appeared to experience more durable, nastier foes. See: Bad Boys Pistons, Apparel-lining Celtics.

Amusing thing, nevertheless. Those tea-sipping Lakers received 5 championships and it would have been six if not for a Magic Johnson damage.

The Warriors, in their five-period operate to the Finals, generally read whispers, and shouts, that they ended up tiptoeing by the tulips and would before long get crushed. It under no circumstances occurred, but it’s a concept that some critics, specialists and assorted haters enjoy to pound.

Who can ignore the tombstone cookies LeBron James shared in the Warriors’ honor immediately after his Cavs came back again from down 3-1 to acquire the title in 2016? Or the cupcakes that turned the NBA image of softness when Kendrick Perkins trolled Kevin Durant for leaping to the Warriors. Who can fail to remember how old-school know-it-alls scoffed at Stephen Curry’s MVP trophies, stating he would have been torn limb-from-limb in the outdated times of “real” basketball.

A ton of that chat is silly bluster and blow back again against a group getting too a great deal entertaining for some observers. But the playoffs are a grittier brand name of ball, and the Warriors do feel to get more compact and lighter and additional finesse-y by the day.

That Cupcake Concern is even additional legit now that the Warriors are often trotting out a new three-guard lineup, with the lightly nourished Jordan Poole signing up for Curry and Klay Thompson.

On Sunday, Poole experienced his first subpar activity in what appears like two months, just 11 points. He did have nine helps and three steals, so not a complete slug, but Poole didn’t swing the ball more than enough when he bought blitzed, reverting to old practices.

“They were additional actual physical with (Poole) tonight, for guaranteed,” Kerr explained. Aaron “Gordon bought into him. That should be predicted at this position. Jordan has manufactured a name for himself all around the league, and he’s played so well, so groups are going to start throwing a ton of things at him, such as physicality and making an attempt to get below his pores and skin a small little bit. So fantastic encounter for Jordan, he’s received to go as a result of it to truly feel it, and then he’ll respond in Sport 5.”

So if you’re seeking for a silver lining, there you go. Some Warriors went to college Sunday. Had they received, the classes might not have strike dwelling, and this workforce actually wants to storm into the up coming spherical with an edge and grit.

“This isn’t the worst matter for us,” Inexperienced reported. “We get extra reps jointly, a lot more playoff-like reps, so it is not all poor.”

Curry reported, “It’s a fantastic check for us. … It is a reminder of how hard it is to win at this stage.”

Curry is braced for the bouncy flights. Sunday he even survived a Nikola Jokic bull hurry, where the Joker attempted to grow to be Curry’s 284-pound backpack. Some Warriors are new to that stage of pleasurable.

Jonathan Kuminga, for example. The rookie ahead received his to start with taste of real playoff intensity Sunday. He seemed anxious at very first, then chased away the butterflies with two glowing sprints for fastbreak buckets. He will engage in a bigger position as the playoffs unspool, serving to lessen the Warriors’ measurement and energy disadvantage.

So Sunday was Poole College and Kuminga Higher education.

The likely will not get simpler. Anytime the Warriors get in advance in a playoff collection, the opposing mentor and players usually say they need to have to come out the next recreation and punch the Warriors in the mouth, properly.

No one has sympathy for the seemingly punchable Warriors. Television participate in-by-participate in man Mark Jones commented Sunday on “all the contact Jokic has endured in this series.” That is like sympathizing with Mike Tyson for the problems done to his fists by an airline passenger’s deal with.

The team’s response to Sunday’s decline is a fantastic signal. It displays that the Warriors are portion of the large team that does not come to feel sorry for the Warriors. Cookies, anyone?

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Electronic mail: [email protected] Twitter: @scottostler