The Golden State Warriors are back at a .500 record after a nervy 116-115 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves that almost got out of their hands.
Coming into the game on the back of an embarrassing loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Golden State Warriors needed a reaction and after the first quarter, it looked like they had it.
They raced out of the blocks into a 34-12 lead but needed to hold off a late rally from the Timberwolves, who took the last quarter 37-29, to secure a close win.
Steph Curry top-scored for the Warriors with Andrew Wiggins following closely behind, while Anthony Edwards continued his dominating run of form.
However, Steve Kerr wasn’t very pleased after the win, admitting to doing something he “hates” afterward but acknowledging he’s got no choice.
The motto of this golden era at the Warriors under Steve Kerr has been “Strength in Numbers” but that motto has gone for a spin lately.
After starting the season with a remarkably deep roster, the reality has struck hard and the lack of consistency combined with a drop in form has seen them tumble down in standings.
As a result, Kerr has leaned further into the tried-and-trusted, with Steph Curry playing a team-high 37 points against the Timberwolves.
For a player who’s always been protected, especially in the regular season, that is a new occurrence and the most worrying thing is that each and every single of those 37 minutes was needed for the Warriors to escape with just a narrow win.
Kerr admitted that he “doesn’t like” having Curry play these many minutes but that’s what needs to be done at this moment to get the Warriors moving up in the standings.
He said: “I hate that his [Steph Curry] minutes are creeping up, I don’t like it but we gotta do what we gotta do. Hopefully as we get reinforcements back, we’ll be able to get him back down to that 30-32 mark.
“Tonight we had to let it rip and he’s got a couple of days before the next game and it was important to get this win.”
https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1879766526343143915
The Warriors and Kerr have already admitted that they won’t mortgage the future of the franchise for some win-now pieces when they aren’t convinced of the potential of this team.
At the same time, stretching Curry’s minutes to scrape a victory isn’t advised either, which is why Kerr admitted that he hates it.
The truth is, the Dubs and Curry are treading a dangerous path where they’ve reached a point that most teams hate.
They’re not good enough to win the title or even contend for it seriously and they’re too good to rip the band-aid off and lean into a rebuild, especially with Curry and Draymond Green on the roster.
They are forced to just flutter and somehow keep their head above water to maintain a modicum of serious contention while actually going nowhere.
A dynasty is ending with a whimper.
Related Topics
