The Warriors’ depth issues worsened without Steph losing to the Clippers – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

As much as Steve Kerr has had to remind the Warriors lately to include Stephen Curry in things when he’s on the court, it’s important that they find ways to win when the two-time NBA MVP is unavailable is.

After successfully doing that in four of the five games Curry missed before sitting out Friday’s game against the Clippers, Golden State had a good opportunity to do it again against a contender in the Western Conference.

Draymond Green, who suffered a lower back bruise, was also missing, giving the Warriors a chance to make it clear to the rest of the NBA that their value as a collective is greater than the individuality of their two championship superstars.

Instead, the point was made forcefully clear: The Warriors are incapable of cooking without the chef.

Despite a strong and solid performance from Jonathan Kuminga – who continues to develop his game at a rapid rate – the Warriors couldn’t really get much going and the offense stalled in Golden State’s 102-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome .

“We need to gain some confidence shooting the ball and find multiple players in a game who can do it,” Kerr said after Friday’s loss. “That’s how you can win in this league. You can’t just rely on one man. Tonight JK was that guy, he was brilliant. Last game it was Steph.”

Before Friday’s game, the Warriors were 4-1 without Curry this season and 24-39 all-time in games in which neither he nor Green played, although they did face the Houston Rockets on Dec. 5 without either player defeated with 99:93.

With Golden State playing the first half in a row, Kerr felt it was important to give Curry a break for the first time since Dec. 5. He had played 32 minutes or more in the eight games since, so it made sense.

For a few moments it looked like the move would be worth it.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by 19, 91-88, when Moses Moody hit a 3-pointer with two and a half minutes left. This is where the good times and points ended for Golden State.

The offensive themes occurred across the board.

The Warriors had four players – Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder and Moses Moody – miss seven shots. Lindy Waters played more than 16 minutes and did not score a goal.

It wasn’t all bad either.

Kerr praised the Dubs’ defensive performance and energy in the fourth quarter, something that has troubled Golden State several times this season.

However, it is clear that the Warriors still have a long way to go. This probably won’t be the last game Curry has to sit out to rest his sore knees. The 34-year-old Green could also need some more time off during the regular season

“We have to get multiple guys going, and that brings confidence,” Kerr said. “We obviously lost some confidence. We’ll get it back.”

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