PORTLAND, Ore. — Stephen Curry couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
On a night when arguably the NBA’s all-time greatest shooter made 12 3-pointers in a game for the fifth time in his career and scored 48 points, Curry was stopped in his tracks when told how many starting lineups the Warriors had used over the past nine games.
“Did you say starting nine? Curry responded after a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. “I didn’t know that.”
With Draymond Green returning to the court Sunday night after missing the last week and a half with a foot injury and an excused absence from the team, Golden State used its 15th different starting lineup of the season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been trying to find the right combinations all season, but the momentum the Warriors are looking for remains elusive. Sunday night’s game, which included another sublime performance from Curry, was just the latest example. That left a frustrated Kerr taking responsibility for a team that began the season with championship aspirations – but now finds itself with a 13-14 record two months into the schedule.
“We have to find a way to connect the game, that’s my job,” Kerr said. “I’m not doing my job well this year. We have enough talent to be much better. We’re losing all these close games. So I have to find a way to help these guys.”
There are many reasons why the Warriors find themselves in this predicament. Curry, who often projects a sense of calm amid the storm Golden State is facing, pointed out an obvious problem in explaining why the group doesn’t have the continuity he’s looking for.
“Obviously I missed five games (due to a quad injury),” said Curry, who has missed nine games total this season. “Draymond missed a few, Jimmy missed a few, Al missed a lot, Melt just came back. It’s a revolving door, every team goes through it from time to time. Whether it’s forced or not, I don’t know how many teams succeed in ’82 with that as a part of their identity. So hopefully we can correct that and have a sustained run of games where you know who’s out there, you know what the rotations are.”
While injuries have been a major problem for the Warriors, an equally important problem is that the young players the group was counting on to take the next step have yet to do so this season.
Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga all showed flashes of solid play at different times, but failed to maintain a high level. Kuminga moved from the starting lineup to start the season to his third straight DNP coaching decision Sunday night. There are many reasons why the Warriors find themselves in this predicament, but as Kerr pointed out before the game, one of the biggest is the lack of separation within the roster.
“It would be nice to be able to do that,” Kerr said when asked if he had the same alignment. “But I don’t think we’re in a position to do it given the absence of Steph, the absence of Draymond, the emergence of Pat (Spencer). We’re looking for different combos. A lot of guys are in the same vicinity in terms of lack of separation between those who play well and those who play poorly. Every night it’s a little different so I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Far too often this season, no matter which players have been on the court, they have failed to find the chemistry that defined strong Warriors teams of the past. That’s why Green was passionate in his defense of Kerr when asked about the idea of continuity after Sunday’s game.
“That’s the key, for sure,” Green said. “You want continuity. But you have to find it first. We haven’t played very well. We’re 13-14 years old. So there’s nothing that says that should continue. I know everyone wants to point the finger at Steve and say, ‘Ah man, he does this, he does that.’ There is no continuity. But hey, if you’re 13-14 years old, you keep doing the same thing you do, keep getting what you get. So you have to try different things.
For his part, Kerr reiterated before the game that he didn’t settle for a set starting lineup last season until the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler just before the trade deadline. The Warriors finished the regular season strong, closing 23-8, thanks in part to the stability and continuity that Butler’s presence brought to the lineup.
The biggest question facing Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and his staff as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches is whether or not the organization believes the answers are on the roster, even if the group eventually recovers?
There isn’t a sense of panic within the Warriors organization yet, but if they continue to give up close games like these, there will be some soon.
“You can’t find continuity until you find elements that work,” Green said. “And then that leads to wins. And so far we haven’t done that. So there’s no chance of finding continuity. You’re not just going to create the same formation to keep it familiar. If you don’t win, you don’t win. You have to change something. So until we figure it out, it’s going to change – because we have to figure it out.”
