Steve Kerr liked the result, but not all of the details, after the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 110-105 on Tuesday night at Chase Center. The Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak, but Kerr said the performance still left room for cleanup before the play-in.
“Yeah, that was great,” Kerr said, reflecting on the emotional moment for Moses Moody. “It was really fun to see Moses today. He just got back in town from LA where he had the surgery and all the guys were excited to see him.”
Kerr also praised Charles Bassey, who gave Golden State useful minutes off the bench. “He’s been great,” Kerr said. “He’s a really impressive player, just the presence in the paint and ability to finish and score in there and then he blocks shots, he rebounds. Really active, good player.”
The coach said Stephen Curry looked better than he did in the opener after returning from a right knee injury, but not yet fully sharp. “Well, I thought he looked a little rusty,” Kerr said. “The second game back to me is always harder than the first when you’re coming back.”
Kerr pointed to Golden State’s third-quarter turnover problems as the biggest issue. “We had 11 turnovers in the third quarter. We just completely let our guard down,” he said, adding that Curry was “part of that with a couple of poor decisions.”
He said the message to Curry is patience and reps. “Part of him getting back into the game and the flow of things is just feeling multiple games and recognizing the decision-making is really going to matter next week, when we’re in the play-in,” Kerr said. “He knows he had a little bit of a ragged game handling the ball, but he’ll make the necessary adjustments and be better next game.”
Kerr also addressed De’Anthony Melton’s recent bounce-back. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he’s broken out here the last couple games,” he said. “With Steph’s return there’s so much more focus on Steph and that opens up the floor.”
Asked about the fit, Kerr said it clearly works. “He gets downhill, he gets to the rim and Steph obviously provides a lot of spacing,” he said. “Defensively, he’s really versatile and he can guard the best guy out there. So Melt’s been a great player for us all year.”
Kerr said Golden State is not trying to force rhythm at the expense of health. “We just prioritize health,” he said. “The rhythm comes after that.”
With Will Richard a late scratch and Pat Spencer moved into the starting lineup, Kerr said the veteran guard simply absorbed the load. “Pat’s like he’s a gamer,” Kerr said. “We know we can play him 40 minutes and he loves it and he’s healthy and no problem.”
Looking ahead, Kerr said the Warriors need cleaner execution. “I’d like to see a full 48 minutes of sharper execution,” he said. “If we’re careless with the ball, we’re in big trouble.”
