Steve Kerr is aware of the Warriors’ greatest problem with Steph Curry out injured will likely be scoring.
Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga mixed for 63 factors on Saturday night time, however it wasn’t sufficient to earn a win as Golden State misplaced 102-97 in Sport 3 of its playoff collection with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He’ll want greater than 34 factors from the remainder of his staff to win Sport 4 on Monday (7 p.m. PT, TNT).
“I’m very confident that both JK and Jimmy will play well but to expect 63 points combined again is probably unrealistic,” the Warriors’ coach stated in a Sunday convention name.
Kuminga, who had been out of the Warriors’ rotation, scored 30, together with three 3-pointers on 4 makes an attempt. He’s 19-of-29 from the sector during the last two video games because the Warriors have turned to his aggressive offense to maintain them in video games with out Curry.
“Really a fantastic effort from JK and really happy for him,” Kerr stated. “The way he stayed ready through the last couple of weeks where things hadn’t gone his way and we’re going to need him, obviously, going forward.”
Butler led Golden State with 33 factors on 26 photographs and 43 minutes. At 35 years previous and fewer than two weeks faraway from a glute damage that pressured him to overlook Sport 3 of the Warriors’ collection in opposition to Houston, Butler remains to be signaling to Kerr that he’s able to tackle extra.
“In hindsight, I would have loved to have gotten him a couple more minutes (of rest) during the meat of the game but it’s tricky,” Kerr stated. “As I said, without Steph, we’re walking a fine line, so we’ve got to balance the risk of keeping him off the floor versus the gain of getting him a little more rest.”
Emphasizing the main points
Curry is out for Monday’s recreation and his hamstring damage, suffered in Sport 1, will likely be re-evaluated Wednesday earlier than Sport 5.
Kerr stated he desires his staff to give attention to recreation plan particulars quite than something they’ll’t management, together with nice particular person efforts from Wolves stars Anthony Edwards (28 second-half factors) and Julius Randle (triple-double), whom the coach credited for Minnesota’s surge after halftime.
“You can’t really control Anthony Edwards making a fadeaway 3 from the wing with one second on the shot clock. You’re not going to be able to do anything about that,” Kerr stated. “But you can do something about the offensive rebounds, kick-out 3s, losing vision on cutters — all those things are controllable.”
About these foul calls
As for the officiating, Kerr lauded the management that crew chief Scott Foster and his group created early within the recreation, however disagreed with two late fouls on Draymond Inexperienced — a blocking foul that he challenged unsuccessfully and a taking pictures foul on the rim that was Inexperienced’s sixth.
“I thought the one we challenged was a charge. I understand when the league talks about legal guarding position, but I think that is superseded by an offensive player going through your chest,” Kerr stated. “Those are always subjective calls and you just live with them. I didn’t like the sixth one, but it doesn’t matter.”
