In their 110-114 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, gave an explanation on why Stephen Curry didn’t play for 30 minutes.
“We’re trying to keep him around 30 (minutes). Trying to get him as much rest as we can. He’s played a lot of minutes, played 35 (minutes) a few days ago. As long as we were hanging in there, we wanted to limit the numbers and not overplay him.”
In addition, Kerr dismissed Steph’s reduced playing time as the cause of tonight’s defeat and mentioned the packed schedule for the upcoming week as justification for his decision to intentionally play him fewer minutes.
“We can’t expect to ride Steph game after game. These last few weeks have been very tough. We’ve put the burden of the franchise on his shoulders for 15 years. You can’t expect him to play 35 minutes. We’ve got five games in seven days on this road trip. If you want to say him playing 30 or 32 minutes was the difference in a win or a loss, I totally disagree. We’re trying to win the game but also keep him fresh.”
Curry played 29:50 minutes of the game tonight, going 9-23 from the field to score 31 points. This is reminiscent of the issues the Lakers encountered in October when they attempted to contain LeBron James yet were unable to hold leads in his absence.
Despite being outplayed by an ailing Wolves team, the Warriors managed to stay close. You never know if the Warriors would have scored enough points in those final two minutes to win on a night when Anthony Edwards was lackluster if Curry had played even two more minutes.
The Warriors Could Lose The No. 10 Seed
The Warriors are contending for more than simply the No. 6 or No. 8 seed these days. They now have to guard the No. 10 spot against the Houston Rockets, who have won eight straight games, the hot team in the NBA. As of right now, they trail the Warriors by just one game. The teams will square off on April 1. Regardless of the result of tonight’s Lakers vs. Pacers game, the 36-34 Warriors are currently two games behind the No. 9 seed Lakers.
The Warriors’ toughest immediate standings opponent when they wake up tomorrow is the Rockets, as the swing could go to 2.5 games with a Lakers win or 1.5 games with a Lakers loss.
This season, Curry’s averages have been 26.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. Even though these figures are astounding, Curry’s output has declined noticeably this season and his inconsistent play has increased. If you had told supporters this concept before the beginning of the season, they would have laughed at Curry’s repeated single-digit scoring games without a three-pointer.
The Warriors may be forced to make long-overdue and much-needed adjustments if they miss the play-in. After agreeing to a contract extension this season, Steve Kerr is probably still the head coach, but Klay Thompson’s situation might become even more complicated if the team finishes in the 11th spot.
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