Before the curtains were drawn for the Warriors vs. Grizzlies showdown, Steve Kerr disappointed Dub Nation by announcing that Stephen Curry wouldn’t be lacing up for Saturday night’s game. The reason? His bilateral knee pain. What age does to a man! However, Golden State was just fine without him. In fact, they were statistically better.

The last time the 10-time NBA All-Star led them to Tennessee was a disaster the Warriors would rather forget. But without him last night, they delivered a historic performance. Does this mean the Warriors are better off without Stephen Curry? The microphone was handed to head coach Steve Kerr to address the troubling question. However, it wasn’t exactly a straightforward one.

During the postgame press conference following their 121-113 win, it was pointed out that the Warriors had gone 5-2 without Curry. Kerr was asked about the significance of it. The coach, was cautious as he knew exactly where the question could lead. “I gotta be careful about answering this because I can see the headline now. ‘Kerr says Warriors better without Curry.’ I know, I know how you guys operate,” the 59-year-old said candidly with a touch of humor.

He then described it as “hugely important.” Justifying his point, Kerr reiterated something he had mentioned earlier. “I think I said at the beginning of the year, I’ve I’ve felt really good about our ability this year to win games without Steph, to win games without Draymond. I think we’ve been able to do both, just based on the depth of our roster.”

Relying on the veterans in crucial games is natural, but it’s definitely a positive sign that the Warriors are not overly dependent on Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Moreover, their roster is filled with potential talents capable of stepping up and taking on responsibilities in their absence.

“We have a lot of guys who are dying to play and ready to play when, you know, other people are out,” Steve Kerr highlighted. Reflecting on the accomplishment, the 4-time champion coach proudly boasted, “It’s fantastic to be able to win a game, you know, against a great team without Steph.” He further confessed that it was a “big night” for the Warriors. However, the victory wasn’t a usual one. They also had threes raining down like never before. And Kerr had quite the reaction to it.

Steve Kerr reacts to Warriors making history without Stephen Curry

For 16 seasons, the shots from deep have been Stephen Curry’s department in San Francisco. Sure, his Splash Bros. had their fair share of contributions but none made as massive an impact in his absence as the team did last night. The 3-pointers came from six different players, with their other 3-pointer specialist, Buddy Hield, leading the charge.

“We made 23 threes without Steph,” Kerr stated during the interview. He pointed out that one of the reporters mentioned it before he took his seat at the podium. Then another voice in the room remarked that the confirmation was still in progress.

“I’m guessing it’s the most threes the Warriors have ever made without Steph. I’m guessing,” Kerr added. “I would think some of you guys would have that yet. All these random stats for me the other night, and nobody has it.” According to the present media, this was possibly the highest but the information couldn’t be confirmed.

After a while, Kerr wore a bright smile as his team finally seemed to have found their rhythm. However, there’s still much work to be done to maintain that consistency, as they hope to climb to the top of the Western Conference and fight for Curry’s fifth title.