SACRAMENTO — The Golden State Warriors created history by becoming the first defending champions to begin the season 0-6 on the road during what Klay Thompson dubbed a “road trip from hell.”
But they are keeping an optimistic outlook as they head back to San Francisco. Coach Steve Kerr of the Warriors mentioned the team’s 2-9 skid in February and March of the previous season, before they went on to win the championship.
After practise on Sunday, Kerr remarked, “There are times in the NBA season when things may slightly go off the tracks. “
The Warriors’ forward Draymond Green remarked on the trip that they couldn’t address all of their issues at the moment and that they should concentrate on the ones that were losing them games. The two main areas of concern, according to Kerr, are boxing out and fouling, and they will be highlighted during practise this week. Kerr confirmed this on Sunday.
According to Second Spectrum monitoring, the Warriors rank 25th in the NBA in terms of points per shot allowed in transition and 23rd in terms of field goal % allowed in transition. They had the lowest transition field goal percentage allowed last year.
Golden State also ranks 24th in defensive rebounding, an area where it placed sixth the year before.
Thompson remarked, “We simply need to bring more of a feeling of urgency. It was a long run last year, but 2022 is over. It’s time to shift into high gear and resume our usual championship-caliber basketball performance. I’m sure we’ll carry out that plan.”
We are aware of our capabilities inside this organisation, Thompson remarked. “I believe that this is the beginning of a new chapter.”
Kerr refused to say what additional rotational adjustments would be made or how Kuminga would receive his minutes in addition to the fact that he would see greater playing time.
There are challenging choices for me in every season. You need to be honest, but you also need to have difficult talks, Kerr advised. Guys enter and exit the rotation. The important thing is that we have a lot of players in this group that care about one another and the team. For many of them, even if it might be frustrating at times individually, their time will come. Because of their commitment to one another, situations frequently turn out well.