As much as Steve Kerr has had to remind the Warriors to keep Stephen Curry involved in things when he’s on the court lately, it’s equally important that they find ways to win when the two-time NBA MVP isn’t available.
Having done it successfully in four of the five games that Curry had missed prior to sitting out Friday’s game against the Clippers, Golden State had a good opportunity to do it again against a contender in the Western Conference.
Draymond Green, who was nursing a lower back contussion, also was missing so the Warriors had a chance to serve notice to the rest of the NBA that their value as an overall collective is higher than the individuality of their two championship superstars.
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Instead, the point was driven home emphatically – the Warriors are in no position to cook without the Chef.
Despite a strong and solid outing from Jonathan Kuminga – who is continuing to develop his game at a stellar rate – the Warriors couldn’t really get much going and the offense stalled out in Golden State's 102-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome.
“We’ve got to gain some confidence shooting the ball and find multiple guys in one game who get it going,” Kerr said after Friday’s loss. “That’s the way to win in this league. You can’t just rely on one guy. Tonight JK was that guy, he was brilliant. Last game it was Steph.”
Before Friday’s game the Warriors were 4-1 without Curry this season and 24-39 all-time in games when neither he nor Green played, although they beat the Houston Rockets 99-93 on Dec. 5 without either player.
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With Golden State playing the first half of a back-to-back, Kerr felt it was important to give Curry a rest for the first time since Dec. 5. He had played 32 minutes or more in the eight games since so it made sense.
For a few moments, it looked like the move might pay off.
Down by 19 heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors got within 91-88 on a 3-pointer by Moses Moody with 2 ½ minutes remaining. That’s where the good times, and scoring, ended for Golden State.
The offensive issues came across the board.
The Warriors had four players – Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, and Moses Moody – miss seven shots. Lindy Waters played more than 16 minutes and didn’t score.
It wasn’t all bad, either.
Kerr praised the Dubs’ defensive effort and energy in the fourth quarter, something that’s been a sore spot for Golden State at various times this season.
What is obviously clear, though, is that the Warriors still have growing to do. This likely won’t be the last game that Curry needs to sit out to rest his cranky knees. The 34-year-old Green may also need some more time off down the stretch of the regular season
“We’ve got to get multiple guys (going) and that comes with confidence,” Kerr said. “We’ve obviously lost some confidence. We’re going to get it back.”