Kerr explains minutes strategy for Steph in Warriors’ loss to Nets

Kerr explains minutes strategy for Steph in Warriors’ loss to Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Among the Warriors 128-120 defeat against the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday evening, Steph Curry scored a team-high 28 points in 29 minutes.

However, Golden State had an extremely difficult time getting Curry off the floor, especially during his regular rest in the second half.

As usual, Curry headed to the bench with 4:33 left in the third quarter and the Warriors leading by nine. When he returned at 7:29 of the final quarter, Brooklyn had taken the lead on a 25-11 run. Golden State couldn’t turn the tide even with Curry back on the court.

After the match, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about Curry’s playing time; the 36-year-old has an average less than 30 minutes per game this season.

“We usually score it for 32 (minutes), and we like to keep it around that number,” Kerr told reporters at the Chase Center. “We were able to give him a good rest in the first half because the second unit was playing very well.

“I don’t like to run him the whole fourth quarter and I like to see him close with a little bit of energy, and that means if we can give him those last eight minutes, in general I feel pretty good about that. But at that point, Brooklyn was rolling and we couldn’t slow them down.”

After all, it’s the same strategy Kerr used with Curry for most of the last decade — which, of course, worked pretty well.

And despite the Warriors’ current issues shutting down opponents in the second half, Kerr doesn’t appear to foresee any significant changes to Curry’s replacement model.

However, if this trend continues, perhaps Kerr will adjust his rotations – as he did during Golden State’s 2021-22 season NBA title-winning season.

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