Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is not satisfied with “looking on the bright side,” so to speak.
Although Kerr has tried to suggest that he is proud of his team and praised some of the young guys for their growth as the Warriors continue to play with a depleted roster, he is also a realist.
Kerr said that the Warriors cannot be satisfied with “moral victories” throughout the season:
.@warriors coach Steve Kerr on playing young players b/c of injuries: "It’s a balance between continuing to fight, compete & get better – which they've done – & not accept being 4-16. You can’t have moral victories all yr. We’ve gotta keep fighting, keep improving & get results."
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) December 1, 2019
Kerr himself is far from satisfied. He bloodied himself breaking a clipboard during Golden State's win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, and he has consistently challenged his players in a variety of ways, like starting Draymond Green and point guard.
Any team would struggle to recover from losing players of the same caliber as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Not to mention, both Kevon Looney and D'Angelo Russell have spent the majority of their seasons on the shelf. But the surprise stems from Golden State's defensive woes.
The Warriors have been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA in recent years, but they currently rank 26th in opponents scoring and 27th in defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference.
Marquese Chriss and Willie Cauley-Stein have been somewhat decent in protecting the rim and providing interior defense, but guys like Jordan Poole are really struggling on the perimeter.
Still, there have been positives. Eric Paschall looks like a potential second-round gem since moving into the starting lineup, and Alec Burks has shown some life as a scorer.
Steve Kerr wants those positives to translate to wins. The Warriors might be 4-16, but their head coach is desperate to try to turn things around.
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