Teams losing games with their benches is nothing new, but consider Curry’s playing time in these games. Curry hasn’t reached 33 minutes in any loss this season. Meanwhile, Steve Kerr has gone deeper into his dugout than any other coach in the world. NBA. The standard NBA coach uses nine or ten players in a regular season game. A particularly aggressive coach like Tom Thibodeau could reduce that number to eight. Others might occasionally expand that number to 11.
But on Saturday Kerr used all 13 active players at his disposal. While 13 is a little more than usual, 12 has been the norm for Golden State and 11 is pretty much the bare minimum. And after Saturday’s loss, Curry hinted that it might be time to run a slightly more traditional rotation.
“It’s hard for anyone to try to get into a rhythm… that’s hard,” Curry saying. “We’re a unique team; it’s a unique situation. I don’t think it’s ever been done in the league. But it’s an 82-game schedule. You have to determine what adjustments you need to make. To your question, right? Do we need to shorten it? Probably Let’s need to be more predictable night to night so guys can get a little bit of a rhythm. Maybe that’s shortening it one or two guys?
The Warriors are currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and with a brutal schedule ahead, some sort of adjustment will likely be necessary to keep them near the top of the Western Conference. A trimmed rotation seemed likely after key wing De’Anthony Melton suffered a season-ending ACL injury, but Kerr simply went to the bench, giving former undrafted free agent Pat Spencer rotation minutes. in Golden State’s last two games.
Depth is incredibly significant over the course of an 82-game season. He’s the best insulator against injuries, and a team built around older stars like Golden State will likely have to deal with some in the coming months. But Curry is right about the pace. It’s difficult for anyone to play their best basketball when their minutes are inconsistent. By using their best players more, the Warriors could potentially get a lot more out of them while also saving their deeper pieces on the bench for later in the season when they may be needed.
