Kerr explains Steph’s minute-by-minute strategy in the Warriors’ loss to the Nets

Kerr explains Steph’s minute-by-minute strategy in the Warriors’ loss to the Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

In the Warriors’ 128-120 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, Steph Curry scored a team-high 28 points in 29 minutes.

However, Golden State struggled when Curry wasn’t on the floor, particularly during his regular rest period in the second half.

As usual, Curry went to the bench with 4:33 left in the third quarter and the Warriors led by nine. When he checked back in at 7:29 of the final frame, Brooklyn had taken the lead with a 25-11 run. Golden State was unable to reverse the momentum even when Curry returned to the floor.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about Curry’s playing time; The 36-year-old is averaging under 30 minutes per game this season.

“Typically we schedule him for 32 (minutes), and we like to keep him at that number,” Kerr told reporters at Chase Center. “We were able to give him a good break in the first half because the second unit played really well.”

“I don’t like to let him run for the whole fourth quarter and I like him to be close with some energy and that is if we can give him the last eight minutes – in general I feel pretty good good at it. But at this point Brooklyn was rolling and we couldn’t slow them down.

After all, that’s the same strategy that Kerr has used with Curry for much of the last decade – which, of course, has worked pretty well.

And despite the Warriors’ current struggles shutting down opponents in the second half, Kerr doesn’t appear to be planning any significant changes to Curry’s substitution pattern.

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

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