Steph identifies Warriors change that could be here to stay

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Steph identifies Warriors change that could be here to stay originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

DENVER – Steph Curry knew change was needed. Team-wide, no doubt. The Warriors had lost four straight games coming into Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets on the road, with a whole lot to clean up.

Change was in store for the Warriors’ superstar, too. Curry’s rotation of when he came out of the game, and back in, was different than usual in the Warriors’ eventual 119-115 loss to the Nuggets, something that was his idea before anyone else.

“Just wanted to change it up,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We lost four in a row. We were losing the Steph minutes when he was sitting eight straight minutes. Those stretches of the game have been tough. It was actually his suggestion the other day.

“He came to me and said, ‘If you need me to do that, I’m happy to do it.’ We liked it.”

Curry already was out of the game at the 7:24 mark. He played the first four minutes and 36 seconds, then took a seat with three assists and the Warriors up 14-13. Curry sat for just over four minutes and played the final three minutes and 12 seconds of the first quarter.

His teammates would have to hold steady in the middle of quarters. Curry had the start and finish of them covered. The whole point of the strategy is to have Curry on the court for the opening and closing minutes of each quarter.

Kerr was all-in. The Warriors during their recent slump have struggled in those areas, giving Golden State’s coaching staff the green light to shake up the status quo.

“Traditionally he hasn’t loved three stints a half, he likes two stints,” Kerr shared. “But he recognizes that right now we need to do that. I thought it was effective. It’s hard because you have to take him out around the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but he needs to get some rest.

“He played about 34 minutes tonight. I think that’s the number that’s manageable, to keep him going through the season. But we have to make better decisions, whether he’s on the court or not.”

The loss to the Nuggets was only the fourth game Curry has…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/steph-identifies-warriors-change-could-170519888.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-12-04 17:05:00

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