Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was “a little bit surprised” by coach Steve Kerr’s choice to sit for a lengthy period of time, which the Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of in a 114-110 comeback victory on March 24.
“Obviously, you’re comparing it to the last game and my normal rotation, like I want to play as many minutes as I’m fresh and able to, so a little bit [surprised] knowing that [Timberwolves] were just going on the run,” Curry told reporters after the Timberwolves suffered their second consecutive loss.
Curry played the entire fourth quarter in the Warriors’ last game, but they lost 123-111 to the Indiana Pacers on March 22. Curry only played 30 minutes this time, sitting for the final 4:07 of the third quarter and the opening 5:06 of the fourth.
Curry watched from the sideline as the Timberwolves overcame a four-point Warriors advantage to build an eight-point lead by the time Kerr re-inserted him.
“So, you know, I played the entire fourth quarter against Indiana, and it didn’t work out. This did not work out. Curry told reporters, “So we have to find somewhere in the middle.”
But they need to find that middle ground as soon as possible, as the loss reduced their advantage for 10th place in the West to one game, with the sizzling Houston Rockets (35-35) closing in.
“The situation will define itself pretty clearly and it is kind of real-time,” Curry went on to say. “So, every game counts. We’re getting closer to the opposite end of the standings than we ever expected.”
After an optimistic February in which they won 11 of 14 games, they are currently in a 5-7 slump with only a dozen games remaining in their regular-season schedule.
Their next two road games will be against Eastern Conference playoff contenders, the Miami Heat (March 26) and the Orlando Magic (March 27).
Steph Curry disagrees with Steve Kerr.
Kerr defended his contentious choice and vehemently denied that it was the cause of their latest defeat.
“We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game,” Kerr told reporters following the defeat. “He’s had a pretty terrible few weeks. For the past 15 years, we have placed the load of this franchise on his shoulders. We cannot expect him to play 35 minutes. This road tour will include five games over the course of seven days. If you think that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 makes the difference between winning and losing, I completely disagree. We are attempting to win the game. “We’re trying to keep him fresh.”
Curry argues with Kerr this time, with their playoff hopes on the line. It makes little sense to keep Curry fresh if they don’t make it to the play-in.
“So nobody’s gonna wave the white flag and say you’re mailing it in and if that means playing more minutes, I’ll be ready to do that,” Curry was quoted as saying by reporters.
The Warriors superstar feels they still have one more run in them to prevent their dynasty from toppling during their most difficult season under Kerr.
“NBA is such a weird league,” Curry stated. “It only takes one small spark to set you rolling. Every team will go through it this season. You see what Houston is doing now. They grabbed one small spark and took off eight times in a row. So we are capable of accomplishing it. “That’s the mindset until we run out of games.”
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