When superstar Stephen Curry spoke to reporters after the Golden State Warriors’ heartbreaking loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, he inadvertently foreshadowed a change in team morale.
“When you lose hope in yourself as a team, that’s when the conversation changes,” Curry said. “We’re not there.”
It didn’t take long for media reports about forward Jonathan Kuminga to suggest otherwise. The 2021 lottery pick has “lost faith” in head coach Steve Kerr and believes Kerr will prevent him from reaching his full potential, according to The Athletic’s Shams. Charania and Anthony Slater reported Friday morning.
The anonymous tip came after Kuminga was benched in the fourth quarter Thursday night despite scoring 16 points in 19 minutes. He made 5 of 7 from the field and had 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
The 21-year-old had a 1-and-1 midway through the third quarter, but Kerr brought him down less than 30 seconds later. Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney were substituted at the same time, but both returned near the end of the game.
Kuminga sat and watched the Warriors blow an 18-point lead while losing 130-127.
“[Thursday night] “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a source told The Athletic.
It was the fourth time this season that the Warriors lost after allowing a lead of 18 points or more. This was also another example of Kerr having to defend a questionable closing lineup.
“He played great,” Coach Kerr said of Kuminga after the game. “His normal return time would have been about five or six minutes.” [of the fourth]. [Andrew Wiggins] We were playing great, we were doing well, whatever it was, we were up 18, 19. So we just stayed with him. At that point, I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. He sat for a while. So I stayed with the group that was there and obviously we couldn’t close it. ”
Kuminga is a more well-rounded player than he was when the Warriors drafted him with the No. 7 pick three years ago. With veteran Draymond Green suspended indefinitely, his role as a consistent starter began on December 14th against the Los Angeles Clippers. Since then, Kuminga has started 11 games, averaging 14.6 points, 56.6 percent shooting from the field, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 25.5 minutes per game.
Kerr has avoided playing Kuminga and Wiggins together, and Green’s frontcourt minutes will likely be even shorter if he returns to the team.
The Warriors currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 16 wins and 18 losses, and appear to be at a turning point. Experience is also at an all-time low for young guard Brandin Podzemski.
“For me as a rookie, I’ve probably never lost more than this,” he told reporters Thursday. “We’ve never had better wins or worse losses. We have to listen to the veterans and what they think.”
To that effect, Curry tried to put the team’s disappointment into context for reporters Thursday.
“It’s frustrating to lose a game. We could end up with 21 wins and 13 losses, and the atmosphere of the team could change,” he said after the loss. “But we know that even with the record we have now, we can compete. It’s just a situation where you’re there with a look of despair on your face trying to understand why it happened. .We have to find it.” Now it’s time to balance it out and give ourselves a chance.” ”
The Warriors will have a chance to put those words into practice Friday against the Detroit Pistons.