In the Warriors' 128-120 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, Steph Curry had a team-high 28 points in 29 minutes.
However, Golden State struggled immensely with Curry off the floor -- particularly during his regularly scheduled rest during the second half.
As usual, Curry headed to the bench with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter and the Warriors leading by nine. When he checked back in at the 7:29 mark of the final frame, Brooklyn had taken the lead on a 25-11 run. Golden State was unable to reverse the momentum even with Curry's return to the floor.
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After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about Curry's playing time; the 36-year-old is averaging under 30 minutes per game this season.
"We usually pencil him in for 32 [minutes], and we like to keep it around that number," Kerr told reporters at Chase Center. "We were able to give him a good rest in the first half because the second unit was playing really well.
"I don't love to run him the whole fourth quarter and I like to have him close with some energy, and so that means if we can give him that last eight minutes -- generally, I feel pretty good about that. But at that point, Brooklyn was rolling, and we couldn't slow them down."
STEVE KERR: "I don't love to run [Steph Curry] the whole fourth quarter and I like to have him close with some energy... If we can give him that last eight minutes, generally, I feel pretty good about that. But at that point, Brooklyn was rolling and we couldn't slow them down." pic.twitter.com/4KG4Egp85u
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 26, 2024
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After all, that's the same strategy Kerr has used with Curry for the majority of the last decade -- which, of course, has worked pretty well.
And despite the Warriors' current issues with closing out opponents in the second half, Kerr doesn't appear to be planning any significant changes to Curry's substitution pattern.
However, if that trend continues, perhaps Kerr will adjust his rotations -- as he did during Golden State's 2021-22 NBA title-winning season.