MY ACCOUNT
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr referenced last season’s late-season turnaround to offer confidence the reigning champions can remedy their slow 3-7 start.
The Warriors have an 0-6 road record this season after five-game losing run ended with Friday’s 114-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Klay Thompson described that run as the “road trip from hell”.
Golden State are the first defending champion to ever start the next season 0-6 on the road.
Kerr, whose side return to action on Monday at Chase Center against the Sacramento Kings, is bullish they can turn around their slow start, pointing to last season when endured two poor streaks before going on to win the NBA title.
The Warriors lost nine of 11 games in February and March, along with another stretch where they lost eight of nine games, before winning five in a row on the eve of their successful playoffs campaign.
“It’s all part of the NBA,” Kerr told reporters about their 3-7 start. “A year ago, we lost 9 out of 11 games in March and won the championship a couple of months later
“So there are times in the NBA season when things can go off the rails a little bit. A big part of being a great team, being a solid organisation, is just understanding how to work through that.”
He added: “You come off a bad stretch, you watch a bunch of film, figure out what you can do better, coaching staff makes a few adjustments, give players the instructions and the advice an then everybody is all in together and then you bounce back. That’s the plan. I’m really confident that we can do that.”
Four of the Warriors’ five most recent losses were by single figures which Kerr acknowledged offered some positives but remained focused on the detail to reverse their fortunes.
“It’s a matter of focusing on why we lost five close games,” he said. “You can show some of the positive things that happened during that stretch but then you’ve really got to lock in on the detail and the small mistakes that are just killers, not boxing out, fouling, all the stuff we’ve been talking about.”
Kerr indicated Jonathan Kuminga will likely earn more on-court time in coming games after a season-high 38 minutes in the Pelicans loss, while he backed former NBA Draft second overall pick James Wiseman but acknowledged his struggles.
“He’s got plenty to learn, but he’s a willing learner and we’re gonna take our time with him, and I have no doubt long-term he’s gonna be a really good player,” Kerr said about Wiseman.
“I see a really talented young guy who’s eager to learn, who’s committed to the team, who’s overcome an awful lot to get to this point dealing with his injury for over a year.”
