Stephen Curry has spent the past seven weeks watching from the sidelines as the Golden State Warriors continue to slide down the standings. In the 19 games Curry has missed, the Warriors have won just six, highlighting how crucial the 3-point king is to the team.
With their latest 99-120 loss against the Boston Celtics, the Warriors have slipped to 10th in the West and are now clinging to a play-in spot.
The positive for Golden State is that head coach Steve Kerr understands the gravity of the situation. He has urged his team to be better prepared before Curry returns, so they can offer him the right support and make an impact in the postseason.
Steve Kerr urges Warriors to be Prepared for Stephen Curry’s return
The Warriors are currently in the middle of a six-game road trip, which hasn’t gone well so far. In their latest outing, the Celtics secured a 120-92 home win on Wednesday, March 18, handing Golden State their fourth loss in the last five games.
The Warriors struggled offensively, shooting just 40% from the field and a poor 23% from three-point range. They also managed only 71% from the free-throw line compared to Boston’s 94.7%.
Needless to say, the Warriors did not look like a playoff-bound team, and that likely contributed to Kerr accepting the reality of a play-in scenario.
In the postgame press conference, Kerr acknowledged the team’s shortcomings but emphasized the need for improvement before the postseason begins. More importantly, he stressed that the team must be ready when Curry returns to give him a solid platform to work with.
Per Anthony Slater, Kerr said: “One way or the other. So we gotta prepare. We have to be prepared for when we get guys back, when Steph’s back and Moses and Al.
If we’re prepared when they get back, we can do some damage. We can go on a run. But we can’t have game plan mistakes.
We’ve got to build better habits, boxing out, taking care of the ball in transition, being more efficient in transition, that sort of thing. Our guys are playing hard, really proud of them.
Like I said, shots didn’t go tonight, but what I’m most interested in is our process. And I thought it was lacking in some areas tonight. We’ve got to tighten some things up.”
Kerr also made it clear that the Warriors are no longer chasing a direct playoff spot. While a few wins could improve their position slightly, aiming for the sixth or seventh seed is no longer realistic.
Instead, the focus has shifted fully toward the play-in tournament. Kerr emphasized the need to build habits now so the team can be ready when key players return.
“We’ve had our eyes on the six for a while, and that’s out of the question now,” Kerr said.
“We’re not getting there. If we can string together some wins, try to get to eight, that’d be ideal, get two cracks at it. But we’re not getting to seven. We know that.
I’ve been telling the guys over the last few weeks, we have to build our habits and be ready for when we get guys healthy again. Because then we can have the firepower complemented by a foundation of good habits and fundamentals.”
According to Shams Charania, there is “cautious optimism” that Curry could return before the end of the month. He reportedly went through pregame workouts before the Celtics game and appeared to be moving well.
Meanwhile, Kristaps Porziņģis, the Warriors’ trade deadline acquisition, seems to have recovered from his mystery illness and is settling into the rotation. He scored 11 points against Boston.
A healthy Curry, combined with Porzingis’ floor spacing and interior scoring, could give the Warriors a much-needed boost and help them make some noise in the postseason.
