The Golden State Warriors saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in a stunning 114-105 loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets at Chase Center on Monday. Stephen Curry’s struggles were a big reason the Warriors lost and their head coach Steve Kerr admitted postgame that his star is tired after carrying the team for so long.
“He’s tired,” Kerr said. “He’s just been carrying us for a month. He’s been amazing. He’s tired. So, we gotta get him some rest… You can see it, he doesn’t have his energy right now.”
Curry had 20 points (6-21 FG), four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals against the Nuggets. All those misses were bad enough, but the 37-year-old also had seven turnovers on the night. Considering how well he had been playing in recent weeks, it was quite an uncharacteristic performance.
Curry has averaged 27.2 points on 40.8% shooting from beyond the arc after the All-Star break. While he might not have been carrying the Warriors, he certainly had taken on a big load offensively. Some tiredness was perhaps to be expected at his age.
To make matters worse, Curry has also been dealing with a back issue recently. He was listed as questionable against the Nuggets with a right low back strain but decided to play through the pain. That might not have been the right decision.
This clash with the Nuggets was the first of a back-to-back, as the Warriors will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center on Tuesday at 10 PM ET. Kerr was asked if Curry would be rested considering his current condition and admitted it is a possibility.
“I gotta talk to Rick (Celebrini) but he’s exhausted right now,” Kerr said. “We’ve gotta absolutely consider giving him a night and getting him rejuvenated for the sake of him and the remainder of our games. But we’ll see. I think he’s been tired the last few games and so we’ve got to find a way to get him his juice back.”
Based on those comments from Kerr, you’d think there’s a good chance Curry sits out for that game against the Bucks. Even Jimmy Butler stated postgame that the two-time MVP was tired and he wants the rest of the team to step up.
“That’s on myself and that’s on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him,” Butler said. “Everybody wants to think he is superhuman. He is not. He’s our leader and we must protect him at all times.”
With all this in mind, the Warriors really should have considered resting Curry against the Nuggets, as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were out. It’s hard to give them much of a chance of beating the Bucks without him.
Stephen Curry On His Poor Showing Against The Nuggets
While Kerr and Butler reckon Curry is tired, the man himself doesn’t believe that’s the case. In his postgame press conference, the 11-time All-Star stated that the back issue aside, he was fine.
“I feel fine,” Curry said. “Obviously, I didn’t play great at all, so everybody, including coach, is gonna try to figure out why… I feel like more so my back that I’ve been dealing with the last couple of days. See how that responds tomorrow but otherwise, feel pretty solid.”
Curry also shared that his back started bothering him before the game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. He is just trying to manage it now but it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious.
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