Is it possible that Steve Kerr is reducing the number of minutes that Stephen Curry plays because he is aware that this Warriors season is a lost cause?
Kerr, who has been limiting his star in recent weeks, is concentrating on the next few years rather than the next few months. his focus is on the future.
Despite the fact that the Golden State Warriors are perilously near to being eliminated from the Play-In tournament, Steve Kerr is keeping Stephen Curry tied to the bench for more than nine consecutive minutes in the midst of a close game against the greatest defense in the league.
Ensure that it makes sense.
“We’re trying to get him as much rest as we can,” Kerr said of Curry after the Warriors’ loss to Minnesota by a score of 114-110 when they were playing there on Sunday. There have been a lot of minutes spent with him. Two days ago, we played him for a total of thirty-five minutes. Therefore, as long as we were able to maintain our composure, we intended to restrict the amount of time we spent together. Keep them in check, but don’t play him too strongly.”
There is a significant distinction between simply playing Curry for a total of thirty minutes and overplaying him. The statement is accurate; Curry participated throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ game against the Pacers on Friday, which they entered with a 14-point disadvantage. He played a total of 35 minutes. Curry didn’t hardly alter at all. The score was 12 to 1.
In spite of this, Kerr had to make an effort. With twelve games left to play, the Warriors are now in the lead for the final Play-in position, with a one-game advantage over the Rockets in terms of the number of games they have lost. Every single game is enormous. When Stephen Curry took a seat at the 4:07 mark of the third quarter on Sunday, the Warriors were leading by four points before Curry’s arrival. By the time he returned to the game at the 6:54 mark of the fourth quarter, they were already eight points behind. A club that is currently working on a razor-thin margin cannot afford to take such a significant rเsk.
“I want to play as many minutes as I’m fresh and able to, so I’m a little bit [surprised] knowing that [the Timberwolves] were going on a run,” Curry said after the loss on Sunday. It looked like our lead was fading. It didn’t work out and I played the whole fourth quarter against Indiana. It didn’t work out against Minnesota either. We need to find a middle ground.
Curry wants to play more, but Kerr has made it clear that he doesn’t want to. Curry has only played more than 32 minutes twice in the 14 games since the All-Star break. He has played less than 30 minutes a night on average in March’s nine games. In a rough loss to the Bulls, he only played 29 minutes. In a blowout win over Memphis, he played 24 minutes.
Curry did get hurt in that Chicago game, but it wasn’t until less than four minutes left that his ankle rolled. He would have been under 33 minutes even if he had finished the game.
Some might say Curry needs the break, even if he doesn’t want it. Unfortunately, his output has dropped a great deal. This may be in part because he has had to do a lot of scoring and creating this season for an old team that is always up against it. Before Sunday, he had played nine games in March and averaged 21.3 points while hitting just 40% of the time, including 35% from three.
“We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game after game,” he said. “For 15 years, we’ve put the weight of this franchise on his shoulders.” That’s too long for him to play for… I don’t agree with you at all that his playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is the difference between a win and a loss. We want to win the match. “And we want to keep him fresh as well.”
I think there’s another idea at play here: Kerr knows this Warriors team is over deep down. He’s been saying “I believe this team can compete” all season, but let’s face it: he’s been lying. The event is over. The string is being played out. It doesn’t matter if the season finishes in mid-April or late April.
Either that or Kerr still thinks this Warriors team can fเght for a title. If that’s the case, then sitting Curry for nine minutes straight in the last few minutes of a game that the Warriors almost had to win would be considered malpractice. I don’t believe that.
On Saturday, Kansas lost in the NCAA Tournament. After the game, Bill Self said, “To be honest, I’ve been thinking about next season for the last month.” Self knew that the team didn’t have it because he said it in a direct way. Could you blame Kerr if he feels the same way about this year’s Warriors? That person knows what a good team looks like, and this isn’t it.
Why tap Curry’s tank if you’re going to lose in the Play-in or the first round? Check out the time line here. These days Curry is 36 years old. This summer, he will play in the Olympics. He still has two years left on his current deal, and Kerr just signed an extension that ends at the same time as Curry’s in 2026.
He doesn’t just want Curry to stay as fresh as possible for the next few weeks. He plans to do that for many years to come. Chris Paul and Klay Thompson might be gone this summer. This is a big step for Jonathan Kuminga. These are draft picks that the Warriors can trade. If there is one last chance to make a lineup miracle happen and put together a strong team in the Bay Area, it can only happen if Curry is ready to carry a huge load into his late 30s. That might already be getting ready for.