Are the Golden State Warriors Surging at the Right Time

Warriors’ Steve Kerr Not Concerned About 52-Point Loss to Celtics: ‘Flush It’

After suffering a brutal 140-88 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr isn’t worried about his team. “This is a flush it down the toilet,” Kerr said in his postgame press conference. “We had a great road trip, 3-1, we’ve had a million games. Boston was amazing, we weren’t beating them today. We’ll head home and get ready for Wednesday.” The Warriors have found success recently, winning 13 of their last 16 games coming into Sunday’s matchup, but Boston came out hot and never cooled down, dominating Golden State from the opening tip.

The Warriors are Surging at the Right Time

Steve Kerr’s words have been streaming into the ears of Mike Dunleavy for weeks, the coach insisting he believes in these Warriors and the general manager saying he does, too, while yearning for results. As this season’s NBA trade deadline crept closer, both conceded that, no matter what, significant improvement on defense was essential to getting back into the playoff race. Dunleavy, appearing Jan. 25 on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Pregame Live,” said: “I think it’s got to come from within. And that comes from everybody. That’s coaches, that’s players, that’s the whole deal of we’ve got to tighten this thing up and find a way to be better defensively because, frankly, offensively, we’ve been great.”

Mike Dunleavy is coming up on Warriors Pregame Live. Tune in ‼️

📺: NBC Sports Bay Area
💻: https://t.co/6JMy00acW5 pic.twitter.com/oJ8fr1gdct

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2024

Steve Kerr, following a win over the Philadelphia 76ers six days later: “Draymond [Green] really changed things with his return because he connects [Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga] at both ends of the floor just with his communication defensively, and then the way he helps get us organized offensively.” The trade deadline passed at noon Thursday, and Golden State’s only move was trading fourth-string point guard Cory Joseph and cash to Indiana for a second-round draft pick, which shaved about $11 million off the luxury tax bill and cleared a roster spot.

Steph Curry’s Uncharacteristic Night

It was an uncharacteristic game from Golden State. Star Stephen Curry was never able to find his rhythm, shooting a disappointing 2-of-13 from the field and 0-for-9 from deep. The Warriors were sluggish in the first half, which allowed Boston to jump out to an 82-38 lead at halftime and never look back. The Warriors’ recent hot streak put them in a decent position in ninth place in the Western Conference at 32-28, but they hold that position just above the Los Angeles Lakers, who are 33-29. If Golden State wants to keep its playoff hopes alive, Kerr and the Warriors will need to forget about the blowout loss quickly and get back on track.

Stephen Curry on today’s beatdown in Boston:

“That’s what we used to do to teams.” pic.twitter.com/pZh01tqRQD

— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) March 3, 2024