Head coach Steve Kerr was furious with one player after losing against the Denver Nuggets.
The Golden State Warriors had a bittersweet game vs. the Denver Nuggets. On one hand, the team’s losing streak has now extended to five games.
But on the other, the Dubs still qualified for the 2024 NBA Cup knockout round as the top team in West Group C.
Head coach Steve Kerr is obviously more worried about the latter.
The Dubs took on the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets without their star defender Draymond Green. Despite the veteran forward’s absence, the game was pretty close as the final score was 119-115.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by just five points. Following a sensational scoring run, the Dubs took a 10-point lead, but they allowed the Nuggets to erase the deficit.
The team also gave up a huge lead late in the second quarter and coach Kerr believes Brandin Podziemski was the culprit.
“A lob, when we’re up 12 points in the late second quarter that was frankly insane. Five on four, keep hitting singles, throw the ball to the open guy,” Kerr told the media.
“He had the same play last week against Brooklyn where he tried to throw a lob over his shoulder. He can not be that guy,” Kerr continued.
He further added: “He can’t foul jump shooters. I love Brandin. Hell of a player. Hell of a future. But I hope he watches this clip because he needs to hear it.”
Kerr was utterly furious with the 21-year-old’s repeated fancy plays against the Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets brought the Warriors’ defense to its knees throughout the matchup. Four out of the five starters finished the game with more than three fouls.
Podziemski was among the aforementioned players as he had five fouls to his name. During the postgame conference, Podz addressed his coach’s furious reaction from the sidelines.
“He was getting on me to do my job, know what I’m supposed to be doing out there. He’s like, ‘If you can’t do your job, I’m gonna pull you out,’” Podziemski revealed.
“He just got on me a little bit, which I’m all for, I’m trying to get better. You notice he can get on me and I’m not going to respond emotionally and I’m going to just go there and hoop,” he added.
It’s not unheard of young players to take a coach’s remarks to heart, but Podziemski understood Kerr’s anger.
Hopefully, the sophomore guard can implement Kerr’s advice to his game and avoid another bad defensive night on the court.
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