by There’s been a record-setting start to Golden State’s season — the team has lost four straight, with a bottom-10 offense and defense during that stretch. The problem is not Stephen Curry, nor for that matter Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield.
However, much of the rest of the 12-man rotation that coach Steve Kerr leaned on to start the season has fallen off. As noted by NBC Sports Bay AreaIn the last six games, Jonathan Kuminga is 5 of 25 from 3-point range, Moses Moody is 3 of 16, Brandin Podziemski is 5 of 25 and Lindy Waters is 9 of 31. This has led to questions about whether the inconsistency of rotations and players’ minutes played a role in this crisis.
Curry thinks it might help, speaking to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
“Should we shorten it?” » Curry said. “We probably need to be more predictable from night to night so guys can get some rhythm. Does that shorten the time for one or two guys? Maybe.”
“It’s very hard,” Curry said. “There’s no two ways around it. Mo played two minutes tonight. Kyle played seven. Two games ago, Mo had a stretch where he had 15 (points), then played four minutes in the second half. It’s difficult for everyone. The coach’s job is to make these difficult decisions. If you don’t play, don’t pout. don’t bring down the locker room. It doesn’t help anyone. including yourself.
Kevon Looney added this, via Monte Poole at NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It can be hard to find a rhythm sometimes, not knowing what to expect from game to game,” Kevon Looney said. “But our guys are doing a good job of staying ready. Everyone knows they’re going to come at some point.
“(Kerr is) going to play all of us at some point. You just have to be ready for that moment in the game to create a spark, bring energy and make plays.”
It’s something to watch. The Warriors have some tough games coming up against Denver (an NBA Cup game, but the Warriors have already won the group while the Nuggets aren’t mathematically eliminated with two losses, they are in practice) and Houston. We’ll see if Kerr reduces his rotations a bit, or if he’ll try to go deeper into that depth.
