Getty
The Golden State Warriors have lost four of their last six games and coach Steve Kerr gave Jonathan Kuminga another DNP as trade rumors grow.
The Golden State Warriors have not looked like title contenders through the first eight weeks of the NBA season. Though Steph Curry remains extremely impactful, as seen by him recently breaking one of Michael Jordan’s scoring records, the Warriors as a whole don’t feel like a team that would win multiple, or even one, playoff round.
Head coach Steve Kerr has seen Golden State’s struggles, and most recently, assigned blame for their recent 2-4 run and inability to make any progress in the Western Conference standings.
“I‘m not doing my job well this year,” Kerr told reporters after the team’s latest loss.
That loss came by five to the Portland Trail Blazers, despite Curry’s 48 points on 61.5% shooting and breaking Jordan’s record for the most 40-point games over the age of 30. Golden State has also lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, and Oklahoma City Thunder in the past 12 days.
Steve Kerr On Warriors’ Struggles
While the Warriors are not playing particularly well to start the year, they’ve also had one of the toughest schedules to begin the year, ranked in the top 10 on most NBA tracking websites. Still, the team turning the ball over remains their biggest concern.
Despite getting Draymond Green back from a right foot sprain and personal reasons, Golden State committed 18 turnovers against the Blazers, giving up 24 points off those turnovers in the process.
“He’s an incredible player. We’d be in big trouble without him,” Kerr said of getting Green back. “But he’s got to have three turnovers instead of eight, it just is what it is. A lot of them, he was just in a rush. He’s got to find a way to just slow down a little bit, keep the game under control. Because that obviously impacts our defense.”
The Warriors have shown flashes of being a contending team through their first 27 games, but have not been consistent on a nightly basis, something that has been another issue for Kerr.
“At some point, we just have to find some consistency and some momentum,” he added. “We’re obviously not there yet.”
While Golden State is fourth in defensive rating so far this year, its net and offense rating have slipped into the middle of the pack. The best run they’ve had was a three-game win streak, two of which were against the Spurs, but so far, that’s been their highlight by a long shot.
Kuminga Gets Another DNP As He Can Now Be Traded
Injuries and health concerns have been a major issue for the Bay Area team so far, but even though they’ve been without Curry, Green, and Al Horford for decent stretches. Jonathan Kuminga has been out too, but not with a reported injury.
Kuminga hasn’t entered into any of the Warriors’ last three games, as Kerr has given the young forward a DNP (did not play) against the Bulls, Timberwolves, and now Blazers. The coach had previously discussed how he thought Kuminga was in a difficult situation (with his future uncertain being an open secret), and had recently commented on why he hasn’t played the 23-year-old.
Steve Kerr on another Jonathan Kuminga DNP: “Right now it’s where things are. You saw Gui come in there for 6 minutes and lit up the crowd with his energy. The ball movement, the was maybe the best stretch of the game for our offense just with the flow.”
“Just right now, it’s where things are,” Kerr said, explaining why he didn’t play Kuminga after their Minnesota loss. “It’s just where it is right now, but it can change very quickly.”
January 15th is the first day Kuminga can officially be traded after signing his deal to stay in Golden State late in the offseason. While the missed time from other players hasn’t helped the team’s record so far, Kerr’s choice to leave Kuminga out of the lineups certainly made a positive impact on their play.
“I‘m hoping we can correct that and have a sustained run of games where you know who is out there and you know what the rotations are and guys get comfortable,” Curry said of the Warriors’ inconsistency in the lineup.
The Warriors’ struggles are real, and they’ll likely need to make a chance to become competitive again.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
More Heavy on Warriors
Loading more stories