Despite a depleted roster, the Golden State Warriors continue to find ways to win. After beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, 97-84, the Warriors managed to extend their win streak to 10 games. A feat they have accomplished with a number of players on the sidelines, including two-time league MVP Stephen Curry.

Curry injured his ankle during a Dec. 4 road win over the New Orleans Pelicans, and he has since missed six games. During that span, the Warriors have gone 6-0. That success can be partially credited to Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, who urged his team to play tighter defense in light of Curry’s injury. According to Melissa Rohlin of The Mercury News, Kerr gathered his team following the Pelicans game, and pleaded for the Warriors to put extra focus on playing defense.

After Stephen Curry sustained a sprained right ankle injury in a game against New Orleans on Dec. 4, Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr called a team meeting. He told the players their focus needs to shift and sharpen.

“Last year, KD went out for 18 games and we were No. 1 in the league in defense and it was because we had a sense of fear that, oh man, we’ve got to play otherwise we’re in some trouble,” Kerr said. “That meeting was about the exact same thing — Let’s be the best defensive team in the league from now until Steph gets back.”

Article Continues Below

That meeting has evidently been effective. Over the Warriors’ last six games, they have held opponents to an average of 97.3 points per game on just 40.2 percent shooting from the field, No. 4 and No. 1 in the league, respectively, during that same stretch.

Curry’s unlikely to see action at least until Christmas Day, but the Warriors are still going to be hard to beat with the team proving that they’re just as deadly on defense as they are on the other side of the ball.