For a 2nd consecutive time, the Golden State Warriors blew up a lead going into the 4th quarter. This game had plenty of bizarre moments, and at times, it felt like Steve Kerr was completely checked out. Someone needs to remind Kerr that young players are still on the team. It brought to mind last season when Kerr seemed to forget about Jonathan Kuminga during a game against the Nuggets, as the Warriors blew a huge lead.

After the match, Kerr talked about Stephen Curry’s minutes. The former 2x MVP is 36 now, managing his minutes is of utmost importance if they want his 100%. The second unit’s failure to perform as expected can create time management issues for him. Curry played 29 minutes today. But he doesn’t want him running so much. He wants others to step up and compliment Curry.

Kerr said, “We were able to give them a good rest in the first half because the second unit was playing really well. And, um, you know, I don’t I don’t love to run him the whole fourth quarter. I like to have him um, you know, close with uh with some energy. And so that means um you know if we can give him that last eight minutes generally, I feel pretty good about that.” 

You could see Curry and Draymond Green visibly exhausted, but they ain’t no Philadelphia 76ers. Because not playing them will get them fined. Although that’s not what he feels is the problem, he thinks it is an “execution thing”. The other problem identified by Kerr is the scheduling. “We haven’t had one in a week, so tomorrow will be a much needed practice and um, we’ll have another one Friday. And so the week this week sets up pretty well for us to actually get a couple a couple of days to to execute and hopefully that’ll help us get back on track.”  

The scheduling has made it difficult for some teams to have practice sessions in between games. Let us hope the practice sessions solve the problem Kerr is talking about. The Warriors have started a new trend this season, utilizing every man on the roster to the fullest.

The squad depth has made it possible for Steve Kerr to play Curry and Green like he has been

The Warriors are sitting at the 2nd place in the West, and a big part of their success is how deep their roster is. These 2 losses aren’t that worrying. What’s wild, though? They’re not leaning on anyone for more than 30 minutes a game. You’ve got to admire Steve Kerr’s strategy—he’s keeping it fresh. It’s kind of like when your favorite sports team has a deep bench and can still put in the work without wearing out their stars.

The key here is Curry and Green, two players with a lot of miles on them. Kerr knows that, and he’s making sure they’re not overworked early in the season. Curry’s hitting fewer minutes than usual, and Green hasn’t gone over 32 in any game—except one overtime win against the Rockets. And let’s be real, Kerr’s probably thinking ahead to the playoffs when those two will need to be fully charged.

But don’t sleep on the other guys. Andrew Wiggins, Buddy Hield, and Jonathan Kuminga are also putting in solid minutes. With guys like Kevon Looney and Moses Moody coming off the bench, the Warriors keep their energy up. It’s like the team’s all about intensity, not necessarily individual minutes. That depth is something to watch.

But does this work, when the second unit doesn’t perform well? Or what happens if you need Curry to come back for clutch but he doesn’t have the same energy? What do you guys think?