Even a megastar like Steph Curry needs a few games to get right.
After missing 27 games with a knee issue, the Warriors superstar returned to action Sunday in a loss to the Houston Rockets. He played in his second game back Tuesday against the Kings, and despite contributing 17 points in 25 minutes, Warriors coach Steve Kerr shared an honest assessment of Curry’s performance.
“I thought he looked a little rusty,” Kerr told reporters after the 110-105 win over Sacramento. “The second game back, to me, is always harder than the first when you’re coming back. The first one, you get that adrenaline. I think the other night it was such a high-level game, and tonight I feel there was a little bit of a letdown from the whole team.
“We had 11 turnovers in the third quarter. We just completely let our guard down. Steph was part of that with a couple of poor decisions.”
Curry came off the bench for the second consecutive game and shot 5 of 12 from the field and 4 of 11 from 3-point range, with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and three turnovers in 25 minutes.
His three turnovers matched a team-high, with Pat Spencer, Draymond Green and Malevy Leons also each giving it away three times.
But Kerr, who has coached Curry for the last 12 years, knows better than anyone that Curry will be back to his two-time NBA MVP self in no time.
“So part of him getting back into the game and the flow of things is just feeling multiple games and recognizing the decision-making is really going to matter next week when we’re in the play-in,” Kerr added. “He knows. He had a little bit of a ragged game handling the ball, and he’ll make the necessary adjustments and be better next game.”
Golden State has three regular-season games remaining before playing in the ninth vs. 10th-seed play-in game next week. Hopefully by then, with their season on the line, Curry — and the rest of the squad — is ready to go.
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