Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a disturbing admission after the Los Angeles Lakers spoiled Stephen Curry‘s best Christmas Day performance with a 115-113 win at Chase Center.
“Everybody’s disappointed,” Kerr told reporters. “We’ve lost some confidence.”
After a strong 12-3 start, the Warriors’ season is suddenly spiraling. They have lost 11 of their last 14 games. Not even the trade for Dennis Schröder could stem the strong tide that is slowly drowning the Warriors out of the playoff picture in the crowded Western Conference.
“You can feel it,” Kerr continued. “You know, we had a great vibe early in the season, and we’re going through it right now, but I love our guys, high character guys.”
The Warriors still have Curry, the best shooter in history, who had eight 3-pointers against the Lakers, and Draymond Green, the anchor of their defense that won them four championships in the last decade.
“They care about the game,” a still hopeful Kerr insisted. “They care about each other. I believe in them. I believe we’re going to get this thing turned around.
“So we know this is all part of it. It’s part of the season, part of life. … You feel like everything’s tough, everything’s difficult and you got to feel the flow. You got to feel the confidence and we’ll keep plugging away and we’ll get there.”
But for how long can the Warriors accept the reality that Curry and Green are entering the backend of their primes and their young players aren’t ready yet?
Steve Kerr Rues Roster Issue
Curry was sensational on Christmas against the Lakers, scoring a season-high 38 points, including eight points in the final 26 seconds to tie the game before Austin Reaves broke their hearts with an unimpeded winning layup with one second left.
But Curry’s 36-year-old legs have also shown some wear and tear. He had 2-of-13 (against Indiana) and 0-of-7 (against Memphis) shooting nights in two of his last four games. Now, he’s scheduled to sit out Friday, December 27, against the Los Angeles Clippers, the front end of a back-to-back schedule, a new reality for the two-time NBA MVP and the reeling Warriors.
Kerr has already shuffled through 16 different starting lineups as he searches for the right combination out of the Warriors’ deep roster, but lacking in star power outside Curry.
“In fairness to our guys, we’ve been all over the map this year, rotation-wise,” Kerr told reporters. “I’ve had a million different starting lineups. Guys are in and out of rotations. I’m well aware of that, and it’s hard as a player to not know how many minutes you’re going to get, what minutes you’re going to get.
“The reality is we’re searching. We’ve lost 11 of 14 games. I don’t feel like this is a roster where you say, ‘Here are our top eight guys, top nine guys.’ Our roster is really deep. We have a lot of guys who can play. Every game calls for something different. That’s the issue.”
It’s an issue that has plagued them since last season. But the Warriors front office led by Mike Dunleavy Jr. still went on to give the same problem for Kerr this season.
Steph Curry Warns ‘Inflection Point’ Ahead
Their next 22 games between now and the February 6 trade deadline is an “inflection point,” according to Curry.
“It is an inflection point on obviously which direction our season can go,” Curry told reporters. “Our last 14 games, it’s just been tough trying to find any type of momentum or consistency, and through that, you just can’t lose spirit and belief that we’re a good enough team to figure it out because this league is ruthless.”
Only six of those games are against teams currently outside the top 10 of each conference. However, three of those games are against the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, who may be out of the top 10 right now but, when healthy, can be the better team on any given night.
“This league changes from window to window of what you can fall back on, and when you dig yourself a hole like that, sometimes it can be hard to pull out of,” Curry continued. “So, we’re right in that window where we can still regain some momentum however many weeks before the [All-Star] break is pivotal, or else [we are] in a situation where we’re chasing down the stretch. And nobody wants to be there.”
Kerr and Curry already made their plea for help. It’s up to the Warriors front office to make more moves.
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