Steve Kerr took back Thursday's post-game words following a loss to the Indiana Pacers, where he stated his Golden State Warriors “stopped caring” and didn't show the right effort, falling by 20 points to a team that is fighting for playoff positioning in the East.

The defending champions' helmsman admitted his choice of words wasn't the best, yet stood by his assessment of the team.

“My main message is we've got to defend,” Kerr said Sunday, according to ESPN's Baxter Holmes. “We've got to get back to being a top-five defensive team. I probably chose my words poorly in Indianapolis. When I said they didn't care, that didn't mean that they didn't ‘care.' What that meant to me was they didn't box out. They didn't get in the passing lanes. They didn't compete at a high level. But when you say someone doesn't care, that can be interpreted as maybe you're questioning their character.”

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In this era of over-sensitivity, it's likely his comments rubbed some the wrong way — but a team with championship pedigree can take the shots and internalize them appropriately, making Kerr's apology most likely a move for media damage control than actual amendment of his sentiment.

“I think everybody knows how I feel about our guys,” said Kerr. “They're an amazing group, and they're a championship group. So I probably chose my words poorly. But what I'm trying to remind my guys of is in order to win in the playoffs, you better be defending at a high level—and for the most part this year, I think we have, but the last eight, nine games, we have not. It's not just that simple that you can flip the switch. That's why I snapped. But you guys know me. I usually break two clipboards a year and yell at the team once, so my quota is now used up.”

The Warriors suffered a second straight loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, before bouncing back on Sunday at Phoenix, giving the Suns their awaited worst record in the league.