Steve Kerr gave Steph Curry an extended break during the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
The veteran head coach is trying to manage his star player’s minutes as the franchise navigates the final stretch of the regular season. However, Kerr’s decision came under scrutiny after the game.
When addressing the media in his postgame press conference, Kerr noted Curry has been carrying the expectations of the franchise on his shoulders for over a decade. Now, Kerr believes Curry, 36, can’t be expected to continue bearing the burden of the team’s success.
“We’re trying to keep him around 30,” Kerr said. “We’re Trying to get him as much rest as we can. We’ve played him a lot of minutes. Played him for 35 two days ago. So, as long as we were hanging in there, we wanted to limit him a little bit. … We can’t expect to just ride Steph, game after game after game. …We’ve put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years. We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes. We’ve got five games in seven days on this road trip.”
Curry is averaging 32.7 minutes per game this season. He’s continued to be the Warriors’ best player and will undoubtedly have a significant contribution to any success the franchise tastes in over the next few years.
"You can't expect to ride Steph game after game after game … We've put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years."
Kerr doesn't believe Steph's extra rest was the difference in tonight's loss pic.twitter.com/rMBwtyg3Fe
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 25, 2024
Nevertheless, Curry is entering the final phase of his career. As such, the Warriors do need to be cognizant of the workload they’re putting on his shoulders. Still, if Golden State is going to qualify for the playoffs, they may need to continue asking a lot of their aging superstar. Otherwise, it could be an early vacation for Kerr’s roster.
