How Warriors plan to right skid out of All-Star break
PORTLAND — Steve Kerr saw his players Wednesday for the first time in a week as the Warriors regrouped for an evening practice before beginning the stretch run of the regular season Thursday against the Trail Blazers.
With losses in four of their past five games, the Warriors hope the time off can act as a reset button.
“Hopefully getting rest and feeling rejuvenated combined with working on some of the things that have plagued us and hopefully we can get on a good run again,” said Kerr, who spent the break in San Diego.
The Warriors practiced for two hours Wednesday, capped by a 12-minute scrimmage. Every player participated except Andre Iguodala (lower back), who went through practice but not the scrimmage, and Draymond Green (lower back), who did not travel with the team.
“You’ve got to feel the lungs burn again and feel the ball and get some rhythm … 12 minutes just to blow it out,” Kerr said after the scrimmage, in which James Wiseman (meniscus rehab) was a participant.
About two weeks into Green’s absence, which began Jan. 9, the Warriors reeled off nine wins in a row. But those who watch the team closely knew their problems hadn’t been solved. Kerr described it as treading water.
Entering the All-Star break, the narrative around the team wasn’t the one you would expect for one holding down the second-best record in the NBA and on pace for 60 wins, doing so in surprise fashion (at least if preseason predictions from most national pundits hold any weight).
Curry said it himself: the Warriors wanted to take good vibes into the break, but they didn’t deserve them.
The Warriors had pulled within 2.5 games of Phoenix for first place in the West, 2.5 games above Memphis, after they beat Oklahoma City on Feb. 7 for their ninth straight win. Then they stopped treading water and started to sink. By the break, 6.5 games separated them from the Suns — and only 1.5 from the Grizzlies.
Whatever issues the Warriors had been able to paper over during their first stretch of games without Green were exposed before the All-Star break.
Effort and energy started to lag.
But ominous signs started even they rattled off their longest winning streak of the season.
“Defensively, we’ve had a lot of issues,” Kerr said. “Just losing back cutters, transition, our overall shell, losing cutters, rebounders. (We’re working on) really tightening things up and taking away the easy points that you can’t give up this league.”
Golden State surrendered 110 or more points in seven of its final eight games entering the All-Star break, starting during its sixth straight win. (Their defensive rating during that time: 115.8, ninth-worst in the NBA). Against Oklahoma City, the Warriors were dominated on the offensive glass, starting another streak: outrebounded in five of their final six games.
After their dropping their final game before the break — a 117-116 loss to Denver which the Warriors led throughout — Kerr said he saw the markings of improvement. Even in a loss, the Warriors’ process was much improved, Kerr said.
The fact remains: Golden State has yet to play a game this season with Green and Curry and Thompson together. Include Andrew Wiggins, and their opening and closing lineup has never played together. There was a point earlier this season when that could have been considered a strength — just think of the potential — but that time has passed.
Spending the All-Star break in San Diego, away from the team, allowed Kerr to start thinking about playoff rotations.
“We have a lot of options, but we need to find some consistency,” Kerr said. “That’s a big part of the final 23: finding some options that make sense and that can fit. … As we go and we get closer to the playoffs, we have to settle on some lineup combinations.”