The Golden State Warriors haven’t had the best of starts to this 2025-26 season, as they are currently eighth in the West with a 10-10 record. While Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler have pointed to defense being the issue, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stated in his press conference before Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans that there is a bigger reason why they haven’t won more games.
“I appreciate the fact that Jimmy and Draymond are calling for better defense, because you always should rely on your defense when you struggle,” Kerr said, via Anthony Slater. “You should always turn back to that and get stops. I think one of the things that’s happening, though, is the whole league is better offensively, so playing good defense today might not feel quite the same as it did six years ago.
“Over the last 10 games, we were second in the league in defensive efficiency,” Kerr continued. “So yes, [Reed] Sheppard got free a few times late the other night. Didn’t feel like we were playing great defense, and we weren’t. We only had eight or nine deflections; we didn’t make them feel us, but I have zero doubt that the number one thing that’s keeping us from consistently winning is our turnovers.
“Zero doubt,” Kerr added. “The numbers show it, the tape shows it. So, it’s not a disconnect. We need to do both. We need to play better defense, we need to generate more turnovers, which we did really well last year at the end of the season. Not doing as well right now. But if it’s one thing that is keeping us from winning more games, it’s the turnovers. Make no mistake.”
The Warriors are averaging 16.6 turnovers per game this season, which ranks 25th in the NBA. The only teams below them are the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, and Utah Jazz. The Suns are the only ones among that group with a winning record.
As Kerr pointed out, you can see a relation between the Warriors’ results and turnovers. In the games in which they have turned the ball over more than 16 times, they are 2-6. Their only wins came against the lowly Pelicans and, somewhat surprisingly, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers, though, had 20 turnovers of their own in that opening night game.
Taking care of the ball is certainly a recipe for success, and Green could do a better job of it. The 35-year-old is averaging a career-high 3.2 turnovers per game this season. It’s not an outrageous number, but you’d definitely want it to be a bit lower.
With Stephen Curry out for a week or so due to a right quad contusion, Green and the Warriors will need to tighten things up even more if they are to stay afloat.
Draymond Green And Jimmy Butler On The Warriors’ Defense
As mentioned earlier, Green and Butler have had a lot to say about the Warriors’ defense. Green slammed the team’s defensive lapses and made it clear they have been pretty awful defensively as individuals. He had also admitted earlier that he had failed because of how badly the team was operating defensively.
Butler, meanwhile, stated that it was quite sad how the Warriors were letting opponents do whatever they wanted on offense. The thing is, though, they haven’t been as bad this season as these two are making it out to be.
The Warriors have a 112.2 defensive rating in 2025-26, which ranks eighth in the NBA. If you look at their last 10 games, they have a 110.2 defensive rating, which is pretty good. Could the defense be better at times? Sure, but it is the turnovers that are hurting this team the most at the moment.
