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Dieter Kurtenbach: Those once-reasonable Warriors title hopes? They're lost baggage now.

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News on

Published in Basketball

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors felt they had solved the Houston Rockets after Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, when they took a formidable 3-1 series lead.

But here’s the thing: They didn’t.

In fact, the opposite might have proven true.

Here’s one thing that’s certain: The Warriors have another game to play.

The Warriors didn’t just lose 115-107 on Friday. They were rolled out of their gym by a Rockets team that’s handled them in back-to-back games to even the series at 3-3.

In the biggest moment of the season, the Dubs no-showed, scoring five points in the first eight minutes of a fourth quarter that started as a two-point game.

Their season is over because of it.

Wait, over?

You’re right, it’s not technically over. If the Warriors win Game 7 on Sunday, they’ll go to the second round of the playoffs, where, indeed, more games will be played.

But for all intents and purposes, this season is done, because there’s no way in Jordan Bell this team is going to sniff a championship.

That faint scent of title we all received after that Game 4 win at Chase Center?

Well, the new notes are far more sour. They can only blame their own hubris for that.

Even if the Dubs win in Game 7 against the Rockets, you can expect the formidable Minnesota Timberwolves — who took care of their business in a Game 5 on Wednesday — to be waiting with bared teeth in Minneapolis.

That was going to be a tough series under any circumstances. But under the circumstances the Warriors have created for themselves with these back-to-back losses, it will be near-impossible for them to win.

This Warriors-Rockets series has gone south for the Dubs for several reasons. Jimmy Butler’s bruised derriere in Game 2 changed the series, even with the Warriors winning without him in Game 3 and his heroic effort in Game 4.

But since the series has gone to an every-other-day schedule — a fact the Warriors were so concerned about that they effectively punted Game 5 in Houston on Wednesday so they could have some “extra rest” for Friday’s close-out Game 6 — Butler has looked zapped.

 

Yes, he scored 27 points on Friday. That was the power of sheer will at play.

Butler had no explosion and was not a threat to beat anyone off the dribble all night in Game 6. The Rockets noticed and started to defend him like Draymond Green. His already flat jump shot was a straight line, as he had little lift. Butler had to resort to dark arts to find his way to the foul line, where he at least could shoot unabated.

And yet, I’ve lost track of how many times in this series Butler has needed to put up a bad shot because the shot clock is about to expire and the Warriors have resorted to the Save-Us-Jimmy “action.”

In Butler’s current state, that’s a losing proposition, which might explain why the Warriors have lost back-to-back games.

The forward’s injury normally keeps someone sidelined for a week or two. Butler missed seven quarters and has been thrown back into the furnace that is the playoffs.

And even if the Warriors can survive and advance, the rest Butler desperately needs isn’t coming. With a win, the Warriors will fly from Houston to Minneapolis and play again on Tuesday and Thursday, then fly back to the Bay for games Saturday and Monday.

Every other day isn’t stopping anytime soon.

And seeing as before Friday, you could have made the case that Dillon Brooks was outplaying Butler in this series, that’s a huge issue. So while you can’t question Butler’s heart or mind, you can say that his body simply isn’t cooperating.

One has to wonder if Steph Curry’s is, either. The Rockets had No. 30 in jail for much of Game 6, with box-and-1 looks and constant double-teams. Warriors coach Steve Kerr cited Curry’s five turnovers as a big reason the Warriors lost.

Curry’s three points in 26 offensive possessions against Rockets’ defensive ace Amen Thompson loomed even larger.

Curry had 29 points Friday — a game that included an individual 11-0 run to end the third quarter. But there were moments — if not large portions of the game — where he looked zapped. Carrying a team on your shoulders is tough, and Curry seems to be transported right back in early December, having to do it all for the Dubs.

The Warriors’ role players have faltered in the last two games, Draymond Green might be unplayable on offense against the Rockets’ 2-3 zone, and Kerr is experimenting with a starting lineup that had literally never played together before Friday, all while still running split-action offensive looks (which plays directly into the defense’s strengths) against that zone.

Yes, one team is scrambling in this series, and it’s not the team that thought they had their opponent figured out and acted like it.

Oh, and by the way, Houston is favored to win on Sunday.

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