SAN FRANCISCO — Al Horford made an simple impression the primary time he took the ground in entrance of the Warriors’ residence followers at Chase Heart, however when the workforce returned residence Monday to face the Memphis Grizzlies, he was dominated out.
Thus is the touch-and-go state of affairs Golden State will navigate all season with the 39-year-old massive man. The identical as he did final season with the Boston Celtics, Horford is not going to play on consecutive days, giving coach Steve Kerr a choice to make earlier than every set of back-to-backs.
This time round, Kerr opted to have Horford play Tuesday towards the Los Angeles Clippers, who’ve traditionally offered a handful with 7-footer Ivica Zubac down low. That meant the Warriors needed to discover a strategy to deal with Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies with out him.
“For tonight and tomorrow, it was the emphasis on the Clippers’ size and Zubac,” Kerr stated Monday earlier than tipoff of the figuring out issue. “We could have used him tonight against J.J., too. But we can only have him for one game, obviously.”
It’s a choice Kerr must make 14 occasions this season — the variety of back-to-backs on the Warriors’ schedule. Golden State was additionally with out Horford for its 139-119 loss in Portland on Friday night time after taking part in him 28 minutes of their time beyond regulation win towards Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets final Thursday.
There isn’t a plan mapped out upfront; Kerr stated he’s evaluating the state of affairs on a “week to week, even day-to-day” foundation. For now, the dedication largely comes all the way down to matchups — the dimensions of the Clippers and Nuggets making the primary two comparatively routine choices — “but later on, it may be health,” Kerr stated.
“It might have been different tonight if, say, Draymond (Green) had been injured,” he stated. “We just have to take everything into account each week when we make these decisions.”
Protection takes warmth
Horford helped unlock a defensive mixture that neutered the Nuggets’ measurement — outscoring Denver 28-15 over the ultimate 8:50 of their time beyond regulation win — however with out him towards the up-tempo Path Blazers, the Warriors’ protection reverted to its worst habits and allowed Portland to develop a lead as large as 25 factors.
The Blazers outscored the Warriors within the paint 66-30, however Kerr took a much bigger situation with their play in transition.
“Transition defense has not been good,” Kerr stated.
That space of the sport was notably necessary given the variety of alternatives to run afforded to the Blazers by 25 Warriors turnovers. They dedicated solely 9 of their win over Denver, which included an additional five-minute time beyond regulation interval.
“It’s got to come down,” Kerr stated of the variety of turnovers. “Every game is different, obviously the personnel we face is different. We’re going to turn the ball over more against Portland than we do against Denver; it’s just the nature of how the game is played. But we have to limit our turnovers because it will dramatically help our defense.”
Podziemski ‘not his best’
Coming into the Warriors’ fourth sport of the season Monday night time, Brandin Podziemski had three assists to his title — good for precisely one per sport.
Podziemski, 22, is averaging averaged 3.5 assists per sport in his first two years within the league. He underwent to restore illnesses in his wrist and his stomach that he attributed his poor play late final season and stated he was totally wholesome getting into his third 12 months.
Kerr acknowledged that Podziemski “is not at his best right now” and advised the younger guard is perhaps “pressing,” much like the beginning of final season.
“Brandin always wants to be great,” Kerr stated. “Sometimes he just needs to relax and be good.”
