Mailbag: Did the Warriors make a mistake by not fouling the Wizards late?

Answering some questions following the Warriors’ 110-107 loss to the Washington Wizards Friday night at Chase Center. As always, thanks to everyone who submitted questions. You can contribute to future mailbags by sending questions to me on Twitter (@wcgoldberg) or by email (wgoldberg@bayareanewsgroup.com).

I keep seeing so many people complaining about not fouling but the real issue was a missed rebound, fouling a guy that was already in the motion of taking a 3 and then not shooting an open jumper a foot from the basket. — Daniel Burt.

I agree. Although it’s easy to play armchair quarterback after the fact, Steve Kerr’s decision not to foul with 20 seconds left when up three did not lose them the game. Rather than committing the intentional foul and gifting Washington a chance to tie the game, Kerr relied on his defense to get a stop — and they did. The problem was they gave up the offensive rebound, the ball found Bradley Beal in the corner, and the Warriors panicked and fouled. The fact that Beal’s heave went in put a bow on the worst-case scenario. It’s a tough break, for sure, and ultimately the Warriors’ season-long problems with giving up offensive rebounds and fouling shooters came back to bite them.

Lee’s decision to pass up an open layup and then throw it away is a whole new level of basketball stupidity. — Moe.

Lee’s decision to pass was actually the right basketball play. After cutting to the basket, the Wizards crashed and would have contested Lee’s layup. He was facing the side of the court where the Warriors had a 2-on-1. A pass to Kelly Oubre Jr. would have resulted in a wide-open jumper, but Russell Westbrook played the passing lane well and caused Lee to hesitate. That hesitation resulted in a limp pass to Andrew Wiggins that Westbrook intercepted. Wiggins never had a chance. The mistake wasn’t the decision to bypass the layup, it was the wrong pass.

Having to rely on a 10th man like Damion Lee in a situation like that instead of a legit sixth or seventh man is a great encapsulation of what is wrong with this roster. They’ve got their 1-5 covered, as well as their 10-15. Now they need their 6-9, their real bench. — @MidLvlException.

No one was saying that when Lee hit the game-winner in Chicago earlier in the season, but point taken. Zooming out, this roster is indeed in need of two or three more core rotation players. That’s what makes the miss on Brad Wanamaker so costly. The front office brought Wanamaker in anticipating he could be that player who makes smart decisions and timely shots late but, by the time he was traded, he was out of the rotation. This offseason, the Warriors need to hit on their free-agent signings.