The Golden State Warriors had a rough night on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs. It was their first game without Steph Curry since he was diagnosed with an oblique abdominal injury.
Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski were supposed to keep the Warriors competitive, but they struggled against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Lendeborg scored just three points and went 1-for-13 from the field, while Podziemski had eight points and shot 2-for-10 as the Warriors suffered a 123-85 loss.
Steve Kerr Makes His Feelings Clear on Brandin Podziemski’s Night
Speaking in his postgame media availability, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Podziemski’s performance against the Spurs.
Kerr credited the Spurs’ defense for making things hard against Podziemski, whom he thought had some pretty good looks in the first half. The coach did acknowledge that it was just not their night.
“They hounded him,” Kerr said via Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle. “He had some decent looks, but it just wasn’t our night as a team. So, nobody’s going to look great on a night like tonight, where we get hammered like that. It’s a team loss. And like I said, we just — we move forward.”
Entering Friday’s game, Podziemski was averaging 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals on 48.1 percent shooting from the field, 39.7 percent from 3-point range, and 69.0 percent from the free-throw line.
With Curry out, Podziemski couldn’t afford to have many bad nights until the two-time MVP returns.
Yaxel Lendeborg also needs a bounce-back game, while role players like De’Anthony Melton and Georges Niang will have to find a way to be effective without Curry.
What Did Brandin Podziemski Say After Steph Curry’s Injury?
After the Warriors’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Brandin Podziemski was confident that they could survive without Steph Curry.
Podziemski mentioned that they have experience in playing without Curry for a long period last season, but this year’s roster has improved.
“Last year, there was a lot of familiarity with playing without him, so we’re going to figure it out,” Podziemski said. “We’re a confident group. We can’t let one player, as good as he is, kind of let our season go down. We just have to figure it out and find ways to win games.”
The Warriors went 13-26 last season without Curry.
In three games this season, they are 1-2 without the four-time champion.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Reacts to Brandin Podziemski’s Poor Outing vs. Spurs