Steve Kerr is trying to prepare the Warriors to win without Stephen Curry.
The coach warned everyone not to wait for Curry to save them. Kerr encouraged his players they were capable without the superstar point guard.
And after a 20-point loss to the Pacers last night, Kerr sent a harsh message – one Kevin Durant publicly disagreed with.
Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area:Steve Kerr was livid and made no attempt to conceal it after a 126-106 loss to Indiana, which had much more at stake and performed with appropriate vigor.
“Yeah I’m mad,” he said, a hint of despair in his voice. “I’m embarrassed. I know this game doesn’t mean anything in the seeding, but the playoffs start next week. It was an embarrassing effort. Pathetic effort.”
That sure sounds as if Kerr is blaming the players and Durant is blaming the coach. That’s never healthy.
These are the types of thoughts each side gets when a team is losing. Golden State has dropped eight of 14.
But the Warriors aren’t used to losing for prolonged stretches like this. They’re not accustomed to channeling that frustration into more positive responses, because they’re rarely this frustrated.
The playoffs will probably get everyone dialed in, but it’d be nice if Kerr and Durant got on the same page before then. It’d help Golden State hit the ground running come the postseason.