Whenever a team blows a 19-point lead, questions are going to be asked afterwards about how and why that happened.
Such was the case following Thursday night’s Golden State Warriors game, which they lost in overtime to the Memphis Grizzlies, 104-101.
It was the Dubs’ first defeat of the season, so it’s nowhere near time to panic. But Golden State fans were, understandably, disappointed by the most glaring reason for their team’s collapse: not enough Steph Curry in the fourth quarter.
Curry was, as per usual, a juggernaut against Memphis, finishing with 36 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. But because he logged 19 minutes in the first half, coach Steve Kerr opted to keep his star on the bench from the start of the fourth quarter until there was 4:32 left in the game. By that point, the Warriors’ lead had fully evaporated.
Fans and reporters wondered aloud why Curry couldn’t have at least checked back in halfway through the fourth quarter, as opposed to the 4:32 mark. Kerr was firm in his response: Curry needed more of a breather.
“He played 19 minutes in the first half, which is pretty heavy,” Kerr said. “I felt strongly about getting him some rest.”
Curry, too, asserted that his lack of fourth quarter minutes wasn’t “why we lost.” There’s not much else he can say, but the stats indicate his absence was, in fact, the reason the Warriors lost. As Warriors World pointed out, Golden State was 12 points ahead when Curry was on the court, and 15 points down in his time on the bench. He was very much the difference-maker.
In fairness to Kerr, it’s a long, long regular season, and stretching the limits of your 33-year-old superstar this early on isn’t a great idea either. Kerr probably wanted to test the team’s mettle sans Curry, and they failed the test. At this stage, it doesn’t mean all that much, as frustrating as the loss might be to Warriors fans.
