The Golden State Warriors now sport a disappointing 10-13 record in this 2023-24 season. Tuesday saw them suffer yet another defeat, a 119-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns, and head coach Steve Kerr threw some shade at his starting lineup after that.
“Our bench has been a huge positive for us all year,” Kerr said. “It seems every game our bench has to come in and rescue the game and our starting group just hasn’t been able to put it together. It’s kind of why we are treading water and not finding any traction so far this season.”
"It seems every game our bench has to come in and rescue the game."
Kerr calls the bench a huge positive this season pic.twitter.com/nervsIVCSQ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 13, 2023
To say the starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney has struggled would be an understatement. The Warriors have had the five of them together on the court for 133 minutes this season and in that time, they have a net rating of -9.8, as per the NBA.
For some context, -9.8 is the current net rating for the 2-21 Detroit Pistons, who have lost their last 20 games. You hate to be mentioned along with the Pistons on any statistic at this point and it shows just how bad things have been for the Warriors.
The Warriors’ Starters Were Woeful Against The Suns
The struggles of the Warriors’ starters were on full display against the Suns. Wiggins had 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist while going just 1-7 from the field in 17 minutes. Thompson, meanwhile, had 7 points to go with five rebounds and he went 2-10 from the field.
As for the bigs, Looney had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal while Green had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists before he got ejected in the third quarter for punching Jusuf Nurkic.
Lastly, we get to Curry, who has really been the only bright spot in that starting unit all season but even he struggled against Phoenix. The 35-year-old ended the game with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 8-24 from the field.
Kerr finally seemed to have had enough with that unit in the game and turned to his bench. Jonathan Kuminga and rookie Brandin Podziemski started the second half while Moses Moody played a big chunk of the second period as well.
Podziemski, in particular, played extremely well, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal while going 9-14 from the field. The rookie has been one of the bright spots for the Warriors this season and if the veterans continue to struggle, Kerr has to strongly consider giving him that starting role.
Steve Kerr Thinks The Warriors Can Win The Title Despite Their Struggles
While Golden State isn’t looking like a serious contender by any stretch of the imagination at present, their head coach is still bullish about their prospects. Kerr believes the Warriors can still win the NBA title despite their early struggles.
“We’re good enough. We’re good enough to win the championship. I believe that. This team. But if we’re gonna just turn it over and throw the ball to the other team and foul over and over, then we’re gonna lose.”
While turnovers are certainly an issue, as they rank 27th in the league with 15.8 per game, the bigger problem is just how terrible some of the big names have been. Wiggins and Thompson, in particular, just continue to struggle and unless these two get it going, I don’t see the Warriors making any noise in the postseason next year.
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