SAN FRANCISCO — That pleasure Steph Curry performs with, that has made him one of many sport’s most infectious superstars, has been absent recently, at the least from his seat on the podium contained in the Invoice King Interview Room.
After the Warriors have been blown out Sunday by the Kings, Curry wore a stoic expression and struck a monotone voice as he made a blunt evaluation of the 18-17 crew for the second time this homestand. In a 30-point loss, that includes 22 turnovers, to a crew that was lacking its main scorer and fired its head coach lower than two weeks in the past, “there were no silver linings,” Curry stated.
Extra tellingly, Curry acknowledged the fact of the present roster, one thing that will be tough to say in regards to the 9 earlier iterations of his Warriors groups which have gone on to make the postseason or, particularly, the 4 which have hung banners in Chase Heart.
“We’re not really built … to have that comeback,” Curry stated.
That’s proper. The sport’s most deadly murderer from 3-point vary, who really transformed two four-point possessions within the loss, seemed up at his crew’s 36-21 deficit on the finish of the primary quarter and believed it was too far out of attain. He was appropriate. The Warriors trailed from buzzer to buzzer.
Uncertainty pertaining to offensive firepower, or a scarcity thereof, is new territory for a crew that, up till this summer time, boasted a duo nicknamed the “Splash Bros.” With Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors by no means completed decrease than eighth in offensive score.
To this point this season, they rank 18th out of 30 groups. The one worse offensive crew to function Curry within the Steve Kerr period was in 2020-21, when Thompson missed your entire season rehabbing from knee surgical procedure and the crew missed the postseason.
Curry’s signature flurries have historically made any deficit inside attain, and he unleashed one Sunday that reduce the Kings’ lead from 15 factors right down to 4 within the span of 1:07 within the second quarter. By halftime, he had poured in 20 factors. However the Warriors entered the locker room trailing by 24.
He spent the whole lot of the fourth quarter on the bench with a towel draped over his head.
“It’s just one of those things where you don’t want to be in that situation, especially in a back-to-back where the guys just exerted a lot of energy last night to get that win,” Curry stated, referencing Saturday’s 121-113 win over the Grizzlies that he sat out. “I would have loved to have started the game a lot better to give ourselves a chance and not be in that situation that we’ve been in where you have to have crazy offensive fireworks to even have a chance to come back. That’s not our M.O.”
Six days earlier, after a 113-95 loss to the Cavs, Curry stated to related impact: “I think we’re just average.”
Two months from his thirty seventh birthday, in his sixteenth NBA season and managing tendinitis in each his knees, Curry is being requested to shoulder a considerable load. Maybe it’s no coincidence that with a month to go earlier than the commerce deadline he’s changing into extra outspoken in regards to the shortcomings of the roster assembled by Mike Dunleavy Jr.
When the Warmth go to Chase Heart on Tuesday, they gained’t have Jimmy Butler in tow. The irascible celebrity was suspended by the crew after demanding to be traded, with the Warriors reportedly one in all his most popular locations. In the meantime, different experiences have tied Golden State to Bulls heart Nikola Vucevic and Pacers ahead Aaron Nesmith.
Kerr stated he and the Warriors’ basic supervisor deliberate to take a wait-and-see strategy whereas persevering with to judge their roster main as much as the Feb. 6 deadline, however that was earlier than they discovered they’d doubtless be with out Jonathan Kuminga in the course of that interval.
Kuminga, 22, had begun to appear to be a possible reply to the Warriors’ scoring woes with out the ball in Curry’s fingers earlier than he sprained his ankle on Saturday. He missed the primary of what’s anticipated to be at the least a three-week absence Sunday, which solely served to spotlight their want for different choices.
“He’s been one of our best players over the last few weeks,” heart Kevon Looney stated of Kuminga. “He provides something special for us and brings a different energy in that second group. He’s definitely going to be missed. It’s something we needed tonight, somebody to put pressure on the rim.”
With out Kuminga, Curry stated, “Our defense has to be our calling card.
“Offensively, just getting as organized as possible to have good possessions. I think we’re obviously going to shoot a lot of 3s and try to create good looks from 3, but we’ve got to figure out ways to attack the rim. Especially for a team that doesn’t have much rim protection, (Kuminga) feeds off that. We’ve got to be able to unlock (Andrew Wiggins) more, unlock Moses (Moody). Kyle (Anderson)’s gonna get some minutes. We’ve just got to be a little bit more organized when the game slows down.”
Initially Revealed: January 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM PST
