The Golden State Warriors blew a 16-point first-half lead as Stephen Curry went cold from the outside in their 119-103 loss on Sunday, February 25, at Chase Center.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr had a concerning take on Curry’s current state after the two-time MVP only made 1 of 10 3-pointers, the third time over their last four games he shot under 30% from deep.
“I think Steph has looked tired to me the last couple of games,” Kerr told reporters following their seventh straight loss to the defending champions dating back to last season.
Curry sandwiched a 6 of 13 3-point shooting night against the Los Angeles Lakers (on February 22) with a 3 of 11 and 4 of 14 3-point shooting against the Charlotte Hornets (on February 23) and Utah Jazz (on February 15).
Kerr said he would consult Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, if Curry would have to sit out some games in their upcoming schedule — a four-game road trip followed by a back-to-back set, part of a 3-game in four nights homestand.
“We’ll just take it game by game and see how he’s doing but like I said this is all part of the season,” Kerr said. “Every player goes through it, just feeling a little fatigued, a little heavy-legged and then you know he’ll get it back and if we have to give him a game to help him do that, then then we’ll do that.”
Steph Curry Does Not Want to Sit out Games
Curry is having none of it.
He answered with an emphatic “No” to each question about feeling fatigued and if he needed to sit out a game.
“You miss shots like it’s one of those things,” Curry told reporters after scoring only 20 points on 6 of 19 shooting. “That’s why they’re called averages like you got the highs and the lows of it. Again, the standard that you set when you don’t meet it, there’s questions about are your legs [getting] tired or not. You just miss shots and you keep shooting. It’s part of the nature of being available and playing every game which [you] never lose confidence and come back on [Tuesday] try to shoot well on the road.”
In an era of load management, Curry takes pride in playing in every game he can play. He has only missed three games in his 15th season in the league — two of them due to a sore right knee in mid-November and one game due to a sore right foot in late October last year.
Chris Paul’s Return
Chris Paul‘s return on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards will help keep Curry fresh for the clutch moments.
“Obviously, Chris will play all of the non-Steph [Curry] minutes and then he’ll be out there with Steph as well and it’s easier for us to Steph off the ball and take some of the wear and tear off of him when Chris is out there because he doesn’t have to bring it up and battle pressure and all that,” Kerr said.
Paul, 38, returns after missing the Warriors’ last 21 games due to a second metacarpal fracture of his left hand. They went 12-9 without him.
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Warriors Star Steph Curry Contradicts Steve Kerr’s Take