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Trailing the Houston Rockets by a half game coming into the second half of the season, head coach Steve Kerr is looking to fix the mistakes that have cost his team wins in the first half of this 2017-18 campaign.
The Golden State Warriors have been mired in slow starts throughout the season, and that has cost them dearly.
This caveat wasn't any more evident than in last Wednesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, where a 40-27 advantage for the home team proved pivotal, despite the Warriors' shot-making down the stretch.
Kevin Durant put on a blistering 50-point shooting clinic against the Blazers, yet it proved not good enough against a team that managed to be consistent enough to edge them out.
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“I wouldn’t say we’re going through the motions, but we need to have more of a sense of urgency when we’re out there,” Durant said after that 123-117 loss to Portland, according to Connor LeTourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. “Everybody wants to beat us and is excited to play against us. Some guys are going to have great nights against us. It’ll be good to get away for a week. We’ll turn it up a bit when we get back.”
Kerr found it hard to pinpoint the reason why the Warriors have gotten off to such slow starts, but noted this All-Star break could make all the difference in tuning this team back to where they should be for the postseason.
“I don’t know. We just need to focus better, that’s really it,” Kerr said.
“It’s just rejuvenation. I know as a player, even though our All-Star break was much shorter, it was still three days of sitting on a beach or hanging out. It’s incredible what that can do for your psyche.”
The Warriors will have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league, along with the Charlotte Hornets and the Philadelphia 76ers — making their road to a fourth-straight season with the league's best record a definite possibility.
