The reigning NBA Champions, Golden State Warriors have had a lukewarm start to the new season as they have lost four of their first seven games with the recent defeat against Detroit Pistons. It was a proper thumping as the Pistons won by 128-114 and had four players with 20+ scores in their match against the Warriors.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not happy with a lot of things and he expressed them unapologetically. Kerr who is considered as an all time great coach already knows a lot about team functioning. While the Warriors won games at home they have struggled when a series of matches are on the road back to back.
After their defeat, Kerr was disappointed as he shared how he feels that the players are pushing themselves in the offensive and that has impacted their defense. “I was talking about the game being connected and it just feels like we’re putting ourselves in tough spots offensively and that translates to defensive,” Kerr stated.
He highlighted the issues clearly regarding late in transition, rotation and too much fouling problem allowing points via free throws and also helps in shifting momentum. He added, “We’re late in either transition or on rotations and we just can’t stop fouling. 38 more free throws tonight. We talk about it everyday. Something has to click with our guys.”
He then motivates his team and asks them to play with purpose and grit because at the moment the way they are playing is affecting their defense really badly and hence the results. So Kerr wants to change that and find solutions to every problem. “I don’t think they’re all blatant hacks. I think the way we’re playing is affecting our defense. It looks like a pickup game out there so we have to get out and play with some purpose, play with some grit. Until we do then we’re going to be experiencing games like this where we just never quite get the traction you need to build momentum,” Kerr pointed out.
It is very true that the Golden State Warriors have looked disjointed despite having so much talent on the court and also on the bench. They have looked very out of sync in defence and that has cost them games already. While Steph Curry and Jordan Poole put up superlative performances against the Pistons as others were really not at their best.
Now the reigning champions will travel to Florida to face the Miami Heat next. It will be their third out of four match on the road and the Warriors will desperately look for a win to get back the winning momentum.
