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The Warriors are treating turnovers like they’re Voldemort from Harry Potter, avoiding even uttering the word.
The bit of cheeky reverse psychology from head coach Steve Kerr and his staff seems to be working.
“I don’t mention the word,” Kerr said. “I just say, ‘Hit singles. Be solid. Solid wins the game.’ I’m not bringing it up anymore.”
Turnovers have been by far the Warriors’ biggest issue this season. They rank 24th in the league in turnover rate and are 5-14 when turning the ball over more than their opponent.
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Friday, Jan. 2
After hammering the point to his team over and over again, Kerr made the conscious decision to just let it be. At this point, everyone knows the team needs to value the ball more. Harping on it is overkill. The coaching staff doesn’t even show turnovers in film sessions anymore.
“It’s a good life lesson,” Kerr said. “Just ignore all your problems. Never acknowledge them. Don’t look in the mirror. Ignorance is bliss.”
Kerr last tried this strategy with the Stat That Must Not Be Named in the 2022 playoffs against Memphis, he said. It worked then, and it seems to be working now.
In the past three games, the Warriors (21-18) have committed seven, 10, and 11 turnovers. The last figure came in Friday’s 137-103 romp of the tanking Sacramento Kings — Golden State’s eighth win in its past 11 contests.
“Honestly, it’s helped us a lot because we’re not really thinking as much and just playing,” center Trayce Jackson-Davis told The Standard.
The intentional avoidance of the word began in mid-December, Jackson-Davis estimated, before Draymond Green had his tiff with Kerr on the bench. Golden State is averaging 11.9 (redacteds) in its past seven games, well below its season average of 15.7
Against the Kings, the Warriors had 39 assists and 11 Stat That Must Not Be Named.
Steph Curry logged his second double-double of the season with 27 points and 10 assists, and gave the ball to the Kings just twice.
“Cutting down our turnovers is a big key, because it gets us more shots on the rim, offensive rebounds as well,” Curry said. “It all is just making sense right now. We’ve got to keep doing that.”
Curry’s 10 assists marked a season-high as he set the tone for a Golden State team that finished with 39 assists on 52 made field goals against Sacramento.
“I know coach said he’s not talking about it anymore, but we are very mindful (to) that as a key to us winning games,” Curry said. “Because we do utilize each other more than most teams do — screening, passing, moving bodies, moving the ball. Then if you turn it over, there’s no defense for that.
“So it’s not only killing your offense, it’s not just a score, it’s a momentum and it’s just a vibe that when we’re turning other teams over and getting easy buckets, everybody’s feeling good. So if you’re giving the other team extra possessions, or breakout layups in the meat of the game, it’s hard to overcome that.”