Warriors depth issues magnified without Steph in loss to Clippers – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

As much as Steve Kerr has had to remind the Warriors to keep Stephen Curry involved when he’s on the court lately, it’s just as important that they find ways to win when the two-time NBA MVP is not available.

Having successfully done so in four of the five games Curry had missed before sitting out Friday’s game against the Clippers, Golden State had a good opportunity to do so again against a Western Conference contender.

Draymond Green, who was nursing a lower back contusion, was also missing, so the Warriors had a chance to signal to the rest of the NBA that their value as a unified collective is higher than the individuality of their two championship superstars.

Instead, the point was driven home emphatically – the Warriors are unable to cook without the chef.

Despite a strong and solid outing from Jonathan Kuminga — who continues to develop his game at a terrific pace — the Warriors couldn’t really get much going and the offense stalled in Golden State’s 102-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

“We’ve got to get some confidence to shoot the ball and find more guys in a game that make it go,” Kerr said after Friday’s loss. “That’s the way to win in this league. You can’t just trust one guy. Tonight JK was the guy, he was brilliant. Last game was Steph.”

Before Friday’s game, the Warriors were 4-1 without Curry this season and 24-39 in all games in which neither he nor Green played, although they beat the Houston Rockets 99-93 on Dec. 5 without either player.

With Golden State playing the first half of a back-to-back, Kerr felt it was important to rest Curry for the first time since Dec. 5. He had played 32 minutes or more in the eight games since, so that made sense.

For a moment, it looked like the move might pay off.

Down 19 heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors got within 91-88 on a 3-pointer by Moses Moody with 2 ½ minutes left. This is where the good times and scoring ended for Golden State.

The offensive problems came across the board.

The Warriors had four players – Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder and Moses Moody – miss seven shots. Lindy Waters played more than 16 minutes and did not score.

It wasn’t all bad either.

Kerr praised the Dubs’ defensive effort and energy in the fourth quarter, something that has been a sore spot for Golden State at various times this season.

What is glaringly clear, however, is that the Warriors still need to grow. This likely won’t be the last game Curry has to sit out to rest his crooked knees. The 34-year-old Green may also need some more time off in the regular season

“We’ve got to get more guys going and that comes with confidence,” Kerr said. “Obviously we’ve lost some confidence. We’ll get it back.”

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