{"id":661160,"date":"2026-03-16T13:31:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/661160\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:31:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:31:21","slug":"it-isnt-always-pretty-but-the-young-warriors-are-learning-as-theyre-losing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/661160\/","title":{"rendered":"It isn\u2019t always pretty, but the young Warriors are learning as they\u2019re losing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NEW YORK \u2014 Maybe Brandin Podziemski was right after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some eyes may have rolled when the young guard said after last Friday\u2019s loss that the Warriors\u2019 flaming pile of injuries is a \u201cblessing in disguise.\u201d With so many players out, Podziemski said, the young Warriors have a chance to build confidence that could eventually carry over for when Golden State\u2019s veterans eventually return.<\/p>\n

This is a chance for Podziemski, Gui Santos, Quinten Post, Will Richard and others to play through mistakes. To feel what a clutch game is really like. To have the ball in their hands with the game in the balance, the clock running down. To figure out what they can and can\u2019t do on the court in the highest-pressure moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two days after Podziemski\u2019s comments, he dribbled up the court facing a two-point deficit as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. Head coach Steve Kerr kept a timeout in his pocket, opting to let his team play in the flow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Podziemski made a hard jab step to win separation from Jalen Brunson and pulled up with 24 seconds left. He loves hunting 2-for-1 opportunities, but if that was his thought process in the moment, he may have miscalculated the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shot missed, but Steve Kerr complimented Podziemski\u2019s process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d the head coach said postgame. \u201cTake the 3, go for the throat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A couple possessions later, the Warriors failed to get a shot up with a chance to tie as time expired in Madison Square Garden. Golden State (32-35) dropped its season-high fifth straight game despite an inspired effort by an extremely depleted team. Seven of the team\u2019s eight top scorers were sidelined; all three two-way players logged minutes; and new 10-day signing Omer Yurtseven played 12 minutes before learning all his teammates\u2019 names.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors had 10 active players against the Knicks, with $193 million in salary unavailable. Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, De\u2019Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, and Seth Curry were all in street clothes \u2014 in Manhattan or elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These were the cards the Warriors were dealt. At this point, they might as well try and learn how to count them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For players like Podziemski and his young cohorts, that means learning through losses. Perhaps it\u2019s not quite a blessing in disguise, but there are worse ways for a team locked into the play-in round to spend its time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGet thrown into the fire,\u201d Gary Payton II said. \u201cProbably the best way to learn is just get out and get reps, get out there and just continue to get a feel for games, situations. Like tonight, coming into the Garden shorthanded, guys got to step up. It puts the pressure on them to be able to come out there and do your job. I love it. I love everything about this stretch for them. It\u2019s a great opportunity for guys to showcase what they can do within a game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: NBA.com<\/p>\n

These players have been thrown into the fire for quite a while now. Butler\u2019s season ended on Jan. 4 with his torn ACL. Curry hasn\u2019t played since Jan. 30 as he deals with runner\u2019s knee (he\u2019s expected to return before season\u2019s end). Porzingis has barely played since joining the team, and Melton has sat out back-to-backs all season, frequently ceding his minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About a week ago, Kerr said his team is about as beaten up as he could remember with the Warriors. Then he lost three players in one night. Horford strained his calf on Friday and will be re-evaluated in 10 days. Seth Curry has the same timeline for his adductor strain. Green (back) is expected to return on Monday night in Washington D.C..\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

5 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday, Mar. 6<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Golden State is now 5-12 since losing Curry before the All-Star break. But the Warriors have competed in practically every game \u2014 including stunning wins over the Nuggets and Rockets\u00a0 \u2014 and they certainly did against New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors earned a 21-point lead in the first half, as a variety of junk defenses befuddled the Knicks and their star guard, Brunson. New York eventually climbed back after an avalanche of Warriors turnovers and a third quarter in which the Knicks won the rebounding edge 15 to one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through it all, there were teaching moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kerr got as upset as he had been all season when Richard threw a behind-the-back pass on a fast break after Podziemski\u2019s hit-ahead pass led him too far. Richard\u2019s momentum was carrying him through the baseline, but Kerr wanted the guard to stop, catch, and go up strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bad pass from BP,\u201d Kerr said postgame. \u201cBP should\u2019ve made a good pass, Will\u2019s got a dunk. It turns into a five-point swing. I was mad at Will because I thought he could\u2019ve corralled the ball. I thought he was trying to make an around-the-back pass for a score. I might be wrong. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my angle, it looked like he could\u2019ve corralled the ball and made a jump stop. I was really upset with the whole team for the second quarter. That\u2019s where the game got away from us a little bit. Too many turnovers, too many careless plays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Kerr added that he regrets snapping in that scenario. But, Richard could still learn from an unfortunate moment. He hadn\u2019t been in a situation like that before, with 20,000 people watching him get reamed by his boss. It happens in the NBA. Might as well get one out of the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santos, who has been the Warriors\u2019 best and most consistent player for about a month, scored 11 of his 20 points \u2014 plus three dimes \u2014 in the fourth quarter. He went at mismatches, reached into his bag of step-throughs for slick finishes, found Payton on a pick-and-roll, and followed up his own miss for a hustle putback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before this recent stretch, he\u2019d never been a focal point of his offense, let alone a go-to option in crunch time. Getting those reps will very likely make him a better player in the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s always going to be pretty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors were down just one with 90 seconds left when Santos sized up Landry Shamet on the wing. The Brazilian forward muscled Shamet into the post, winning position on the block. Then, under the rim, instead of taking a layup or trying to get fouled, Santos threw a kickout pass into the first row.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source: NBA.com<\/p>\n

A minute later, with one last shot to force overtime, Santos threw an inaccurate pass to Post on the perimeter. His errant dish bounced off Post\u2019s hands and sealed the loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad to be losing games and all that, but at the same time, it\u2019s good for me to have this experience,\u201d Santos said. \u201cIn the NBA, at this level, the best basketball in the world\u2026Today, I missed the last pass for QP, that was a bad pass for me. You just learn through the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are circumstances for the Warriors\u2019 young players to mature. Growing pains are inevitable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all gaining valuable experience right now,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cPlaying these big minutes, against great teams, understanding what it takes to win a game on the road. Gave ourselves a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,860,164,304,6,1136,191,3810,3806,863],"class_list":{"0":"post-661160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brandin-podziemski","10":"tag-golden-state-warriors","11":"tag-knicks","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-knicks","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkknicks","17":"tag-steve-kerr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116239107409245739","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}