After opening the regular season with 12 of 17 games on the road, the Warriors returned to San Francisco for the start of a five-game home stand on Friday. Ahead of last night’s matchup with Portland, Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area suggested that these five games could be an early-season tipping point for a team looking to climb up the standings, adding that a home loss to the Trail Blazers, Jazz, or Pelicans during the home stand would represent a “troubling setback” for Golden State.
Sure enough, the Warriors dropped Friday’s game to the slumping and banged-up Blazers to open their home stand. They were outrebounded 52-32 by Portland and allowed the Blazers to rack up 127 points, led by 26 from two-way player Caleb Love. Head coach Steve Kerr suggested after the game that he needs to try something new to address his club’s rebounding problems, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
“We may have to play two bigs more often,” Kerr said. “Al (Horford), QP (Quinten Post) or Trayce (Jackson-Davis) with Draymond (Green). We’ll have to look at that.”
Star wing Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, was critical of the Warriors’ defensive effort, telling Slater and other reporters (Twitter video link) that the team has to do “way better” on that end of the court.
“We’re just not guarding nobody, that’s all,” Butler said. “From what I can tell, I haven’t been here long, but that’s never been the formula here.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- After playing 18 minutes in the first three quarter of Friday’s loss, Horford wasn’t on the court at all in the fourth. The Warriors announced after the game that the veteran big man was dealing with right hamstring tightness and will be considered day-to-day going forward (Twitter link via Slater).
- Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has now missed Golden State’s past five games due to bilateral knee tendonitis. According to Slater (Twitter link), Kerr said ahead of Friday’s game that the team hopes Kuminga can practice and scrimmage on Sunday, which would go a long way toward determining whether he can make his return on Monday vs. Utah.
- Longtime Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, who has agreed to become the head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, will remain on Golden State’s bench for now, according to Slater (Twitter link), who says DeMarco will leave for his new job at some point before the end of the NBA season.
Yesterday, Steve Kerr answers the big queation:
link to x.com
Kerr poor lineup up against a bigger team lost another game for teh warriors. Portland 52 rebounds warriors 32 rebounds. Post the only 7 footer on the team in 17 minutes a +7 so why not start him? Green can not be the only player over 6’5 in teh starting lineup hoping to defend against much taller players.
Everyone who argues with me about Kerr is 100% wrong and I am 100% correct in my criticisms of him. He is washed up, it’s time to move on from him. Last night’s game proves all my statements are correct and sound about Kerr. It’s not 2022 or 2017 or 2015 anymore. Kerr was always bad at his job too. Aside from Hamptons 5 era, it’s always been: “Dubs blow the opps out early, Kerr then plays the worst lineups possible, they lose the lead, Curry comes back out and wins the game for them” almost like gambling plays a part in Kerr’s coaching, or something…
Kerr is stubborn and has not adjusted to the new NBA where size does matter. There are many people here frustrated with Kerr’s coaching so you are not alone.
I wish that were true but I get so much pushback on here from “hE wOn 4 rInGs”-types when he never even did anything to HELP the team win, and everything to make them lose…then ride Curry greatness to victory anyway. As a Dubs fan, we have seen this literally hundreds of times by now. Even in the Hamptons 5 era Kerr was still finding the too-small rotations to blow the lead.
Pretty obvious gambling/the mob might be involved here…
i don’t get it why Kerr refusing to adjust to the NBA trends. Small ball worked 10 years ago but now the NBA is going back to big tall players. Even OKC has 2 big men on their team and dominating. Portland beat teh warriors twice not because they have better shooters but because they can dominate on the boards. Green can dominate on defense when he has another big on the floor with him. He can’t guard 2 bigs at teh same time which means easy passes to a open shooter.
My theory is the following:
-Kerr has always lowkey thought he was the same type of player as Steph Curry. He relentlessly talked down any GOAT talk early, he often would talk about himself in terms of Curry’s work, the similarities in their game, etc. Kerr thinks he is the same as Curry.
-After Curry won him title after title, after a while, he had to admit Curry was the GOAT, which he has, but the fact he Kerr won -with- an undersized guard really destroyed his mind, and fed his massive ego.
-Kerr then won with Poole and Klay alongside Steph, which further rotted his brain, as Otto Porter (not an undersized guard) was as important as anyone but Curry on that team. But Poole got all the accolades for his work that year, and yes, Kerr saw himself in Poole, that’s why he told him to say that to Draymond, eliciting the same result as when Kerr said that to Michael Jordan.
-Kerr’s mind got so broken he started wondering if he could win using all undersized guards, as he himself was one of those.
-Therefore Kerr believing undersized guards are the only players worth playing, is, because of his massive ego, believing he is playing a defacto “5 Steve Kerrs” lineup. He saw himself in Curry when he never was anything like him, so his delusional boomerr brain now has landed on “I must play ONLY undersized guards as often as I can, because if they win, I (the player version) wins too.”
Make sense?
That’s the real problem with Kuminga. He has only had success with Draymond in the lineup. His inconsistent play creates a problem. When he is on, he is great. When he is off, it creates a drag on team. Then you have to shuffle the lineups. I thought they should have started the season with Curry/Podz/Butler/Post/Green. It worked at the end of last season. Horford, and eventually Melton, could get Kuminga going over the course of season. I thought it was to soon to push him into the starting lineup. It is probably best to trade him.
It would be great if they could somehow get a starting level center for Kuminga. But that seems unlikely at this point.
Zubac for Kuminga works just fine for me!
Zubac for Kuminga? WTF? What drugs are you doing?
“AD for Luka? WTF? What drugs are you doing?” – you.
When did I say anything about trading AD for Luka?
It was never possible to get a starting center for Kuminga.
Well, Nick Richards has started 109 NBA games, and the Suns could have included him in their offseason offer.
Post, for his size and position, is a below average rebounder. In fact none of the W’s bigs are elite rebounders. Looney would have helped but the W’s fell in love with Horford’s 3 ball and went that direction instead…
i disagree Post has improved a lot since last year on rebounding. He is also quicker and block out the other center. When he is on teh court along side Green his numbers are greatly improved.
That is one of the things people don’t get about Green. Yeah he is sometimes a hot head, which is kinda mild compared to way the NBA used to be. Yeah doesn’t put up big numbers. But, he makes the players around him better.
Uhh…Not really. Loon’s lack of scoring was easier to hide when they had Klay. Last year only made the issue worse. Besides, Looney had slowed down considerably. Post is right about where Looney was at a similar age. Probably a bit a head.
Last 2 years you could see Looney having trouble against bigger centers.
Butler is 6’7, but obviously your point is correct – once you’ve lost the 1st half rebounding 24-12, .a smart coach would decide to play his 3 tallest players (Post, Horford, TJD) more.
TJD, Horford, and Post played just 12.8 minutes combined in the 3rd (-5 in reb) and only Post played in the 4th, 6:17
One of the NBA’s greatest runs is in difficult straits. Age isn’t catching up, it has caught up. The Warriors will rally as the season goes on. They have too much pride and experience no to. But not being able to stay in front of Caleb Love, a two way contract guy with a total of fewer than 100 minutes played in his career prior to last night’s game? Steve Kerr’s footwork and hustle weren’t the issue; “time and tide wait for no man.” Old Geoff Chaucer had that right.
Kerr not doing any homework on Caleb Love is very typical of Kerr’s coaching. The Warriors always have a random guy have a career night against them. This is due to poor coaching by Steve “all half-days”, “we dont even practice” Kerr.
Why does everyone tolerate severe incompetence by Kerr, when other coaches would lose their jobs if they tried to put such little effort into their job?
Oh yes, Caleb Love is the most feared player from the PNW. His average of 8pts per game will surely win him the scoring title.
What i didn’t understand the team was on a roll taking a lead and then Kerr subsitute the entire rotation for other players. Why? if teh team is rolling with the lineuop keep them in.
Minutes restriction? Unless we want to burn them all out early in the season.
With 2 days off before next game just keep them in a little longer. Kerr subsituted all 5 players.
Love is a very good player. Surprised he hadn’t got a real look to this point. He’s an undersized combo guard but he could have success as an instant offense guy.
Missed the point. Missed it completely. I was simply pointing out if you can’t stop a two-way emergency guy like Love who probably won’t be in the league in a year, you have trouble.
You missed my point. I think Love is good enough to play in the NBA. He was a top twenty NCAA talent. He should have learned how to play point, but he gets buckets.
Dubs looked like an old team that just returned from a long road-trip.
Also the Time Lord was roasting GSW in all kinds of ways.
Ah, the limitations of this format for communication. You know far more about Love’s background than I do. I’m squared up now, thanks!
link to sports-reference.com
Love is a top 20 NCAA player who went undrafted? Maybe they think he has some holes in his game. He is not the player Steve Kerr needs to stay up at night worrying about defending him.
I’m not saying Love is going to be a starter in the NBA, but he is a very good basketball player. His holes are he’s (maybe) a 6’3″ shooting guard and that’s not tall enough and he isn’t enough of a facilitator. There are lots of guys with his profile who don’t end up making a career in the NBA. Sure you can score at will in college, but can you defend a 6’6″ guard in the NBA? Nope…. next.
Love just had a career night. The warriors were not guarding him and leaving him wide open. Now let’s see if he can do it again. Its like how Richards scored 30 1 night and hasn’t come close since. You have a break out games and no longer teams leave you wide open for 3s.
After the game Steph commented on players losing track of their man down the stretch, allowing for Love’s open 3’s. I rewatched and the culprit was GP3 who was sneaking into passing lanes instead of staying with his man…
they all do that when not in a zone defense. Teams stack the corner 3 against the warriors and there seems alwasy to be somebody wide open in the corners.
Gary Payton is straight up AWFUL at NBA basketball these days, he is 35 years old, been injured a hundred times, his body is shot, he lacks that quick first step, he lacks speed, his passing is the worst in the league, he makes one cool looking play a game then will throw the ball into the crowd 5-10 times a game.
Payton straight up would not be in the NBA if Kerr did not want him. All 29 other teams pass on him, period.
Steph Curry wanted the Warriors to sign Payton. I guess Curry is pretty dumb.
Show me where Steph Curry has GM’d a team to a title, I will wait.
I know you are 100% operating on “whatever you say, I will argue the opposite even if I don’t care about the topic, I am just arguing to argue”, but literally anyone, even you, can see Payton throwing the ball into the stands, horrible set plays he messes up, weak defense, momentum-killing turnovers, 1 highlight reel play and then like a dozen absolutely terrible ones, resulting in losses. Payton is 33, but with all his injuries, his body is like 47, he is very obviously cooked in this league and the signs were there last year too. Buddy and Draymond are also lowkey cooked too. Draymond PPG is the only stat he is having a top 5 career year in, everything else is bad news. Buddy just is useless and being used with too many smalls is amplifying his bad defense.
But the Warriors have to move on from these underperforming, undersized guards if only to make it so Kerr can’t play them, but especially from Payton, he is more cooked than CP3 is. Might as well sign Mac McClung instead if you want one highlight reel play, no defense and horrible turnovers. Seth Curry is an awful idea too. We have Podz, Richard and Moody already. Getting Seth will just make Kerr play a different undersized guard in like 90% of his horse crap rotations.
Steph, Melton, Moody and Richard should get most of the guard playing time, and none of them should ever play the 3. Aside from Jimmy and maybe Dray, the Warriors DO NOT have a guard who is also a stretch forward. Kerr is playing these guys who have no clue how to play the 3, because they literally have been at the 2 their whole career. There is no 2-3 guy on this roster aside from maybe Jimmy and Dray. Will Richard is 6’5″ 210″ he is too small, stop playing him at the 3.
Kerr is not the GM. Curry lobbied the Warriors to resign GPII. You can easily Google it. It was reported a bunch of different places. You should try it.
“Steph Curry wanted the Warriors to sign Payton. I guess Curry is pretty dumb.”
I was replying to this thing you wrote. What does Kerr have to do with it?
Curry wants Kerr to play.
Kerr once again proving he is a 1 trick pony who ONLY knows how to run small ball, and once again my criticisms of him on here are 100% vindicated.
You can only play TWO of these guys at a time in 2025:
Curry, Hield, Podz, GP2, Richard, Melton and Moody
Kerr will play 3 or 4 of them at once – where is the defense? Where is the size? Why would he do this? It hasn’t worked since 2022/Boston/Jordan Poole. Proving he is washed up as a HC, he does not have any fire, passion and is just sitting there, continually playing 4 undersized guards at once to no avail. Kerr does not want to win, he wants only to win playing 4 SGs at once, which is idiotic. Why is he so obsessed with Podz? GP2 is a BAD PLAYER, why is he in every late and close lineup? And don’t say “dEFeNsE” because GP2 is also washed defensively and no other team wants him…but he also is in idiot Kerr’s late and close lineups vs bigs? Why? WHY? WHYYYYYY
One last thing, I watched the game on the local broadcast and the commercials for the Warriors (as in, “come out and watch them play”-type ads) at the end featured Steph, Jimmy and…Al Horford? No Draymond? No Kuminga?
A trade is coming…100% That is a huge tell. Both Dray and JK are goners. Buddy likely is too after he straight up went 0-1 in 16 minutes…what is the point of 6’4″ Buddy Hield if he isn’t shooting? Undersized guard who gets eaten alive by bigs? Cool story bro, MDJ better fix this roster asap.
This is as enjoyable as it was predictable
Butler’s right about their defense. Moody could not stay in front of Deni Avdija at all last night. Straight line drives to the rim and easy lobs with clean passing angles since the Blazers are taller at every position.
As great as Steph is, the reality is that their team is slower, shorter, AND less athletic at every position than most teams they play. They have a pass-heavy offense, but you’re bound to have turnovers when all the bodies on the court are bigger than your teammates and there’s very little self shot creation.
Kuminga will be in the starting lineup and back Monday to showcase him to Jazz. His injury suddenly got worse the same game he came off the bench for the first time this year against the Spurs.
Jazz is a logical trade partner as part of a larger package for Markannen. It would gut the Warriors’ depth and future picks but they need to do something. Jazz wants to tank to keep their bottom-8 protected pick and Lauri’s value will never be higher, scoring 30 ppg and healthy.
I think they will need another win-now trade if they want to be anything beyond 8th seed roadkill for OKC. Lauri, Michael Porter Jr. – tall shooter who can play alongside Steph/Jimmy/Dray and still give flexibility for the 5th spot in closing lineups (a center or POA defender).
The problem with cashing in their chips for that type of player though is it still leaves them without a vertical threat who can put pressure on the rim like Kuminga.
Moody is 6’5″ and Deni is 6’9″. Moody is a classic 3 and D SG – not a SF. Kerr plays Moody at the 3 and the Warriors stink because he is too small and out of position. Jimmy should be there. A true center should be at the 5 at ALL times…
The Warriors promo ads featuring Steph, Jimmy and Horford and no Dray or Kuminga proves those two are goners. I agree GSW is going to make a huge trade in a month or so.
I’m neutral on Kerr but I’ve seen cigar store Indians move their feet better than Draymond Green moved his last night. Embarrassing effort. Late in the game Curry, having another brilliant night stops to visit with fans instead of getting back on defense. These sorts of things aren’t Kerr, right? A veteran with Green’s credentials ought not need coaching to move his feet on defense.
When the W’s win the next 3 of 4, this message board will read a lot different…
Which of the Rockets and OKC do you expect them to beat? (They’ll go 2-2 at best).
“We may have to play two bigs more often,” Kerr said. ”
DUH…
They don’t have two bigs!!! A team of mediums.
You know happens to undersized bigs. They wear down faster. And you take yrs off their careers. Kerr won a title with no bigs (ONE). He deserves credit for that. He was fortunate to have the right players and depth for that. Odds are stacked against that ever happening again. Yet he still refuses to carry bigs. Having a rim protector on a 15 man roster. He doesn’t have playmakers and ball handlers for his offense. Think about tge players on that title team. They could pull off this offense. Now look at your roster today. You think they could pull it off.
So, you believe centers in 6’10 – 7’0 and 260+ range are undersized? What is the right height and weight for a “True Center”.
Is Kuminga really injured or not????? Was it just coincidence? Whats going on?? Why Warriors reporters dont ask tough questions?
Horford was injured and pulled for some reason , the article didnt address.
Im shocked they didnt try to re-sign or sign and trade Kuminga. To get someone bigger.
Its clear Kerr is and has been fed up with him. To be fair, he is frustrating when he does the iso stuff.
I have seen more goof bad film on offense than anyone I have seen since maybe Corey maggette or Okafor. Like no plan half the time. As if no fundamentals without the ball.
One of the most anti-kerr type players in the entire nba is on his own team. Its quite headscratching.
Im not a Kerr defender either. He has a huge ego. And often mentions the warriors culture and system from early on in the process. The warriors culture is a handful of players all star play on the court. Nothing else. The management and FO doesnt get a gold star.
What makes you think he isn’t injured? Knee problems don’t heal quickly.