Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reflected on Wednesday night’s 127-113 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center, emphasizing the resilience of his depleted roster. “Just how scrappy our guys are. We got a lot of guys who play hard and play the right way,” Kerr said.
Kerr noted the performance of Malevy Leons, who shot free throws left-handed due to a wrist injury. “Malevy is right-handed and his wrist is really messed up, so that’s why he shot those free throws left-handed. He had to shoot, I think, three of them. He’s out there basically playing with one hand and he’s flying around and he’s making energy plays,” Kerr explained.
Nate Williams also earned praise after logging 47 of 48 minutes in a rare heavy workload. “We kind of knew going into the game that Nate would play a lot of minutes. I didn’t know it would be 46 and a half, but he handled it really well,” Kerr said.
The coach also addressed the Spurs’ dominance led by Victor Wembanyama, who scored 41 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and blocked three shots. “I just think he’s got unbelievable confidence now. He just looks like he knows exactly what to do at both ends all the time,” Kerr said. He credited Draymond Green for defensive effort but acknowledged, “There are plays where you can’t do anything about it. Several lobs looked like a nerf hoop.”
Kerr highlighted the contributions of Seth Curry, returning from injury. “Seth is a total pro. Always ready to come in and play like he did in the first half. I’m really happy to have him back and hopefully he can stay healthy.”
Looking ahead, Kerr emphasized focus on the next game against Cleveland. “We turn our attention to Cleveland right away. We won’t watch any film of this game with the players tomorrow. The main takeaways are we get a really good look at a lot of our young players,” he said, pointing to LJ Cryer’s bounce-back performance.
The Warriors were limited by several absences, including Steph Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Gary Payton II, Gui Santos, and Al Horford. Kerr stressed the importance of rotations moving forward: “It’s hard right now with all the injuries to really figure out a rotation, but we’re hoping the last few games we’ll have guys who are healthy and able to play.”
Despite the loss, Kerr expressed pride in his team’s effort under difficult circumstances. “We’re totally short-handed tonight and I’m just really proud of the guys for the effort, the energy, the way they hung in, and hopefully that effort carries over to tomorrow. Every game matters. The way we handle ourselves, the way we play matters,” he concluded.
