NBA Rumors: Warriors' young core unhappy with restricted playing time
The Warriors suffered another loss at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, falling 114-106 on Monday as Sacramento took a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.
Fox Sports NBA insider Chris Broussard provided an interesting rumor concerning the Warriors heading into Game 3 on Thursday at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
"I was talking to somebody earlier, who's in the know, who said that some of their players are pouting," Broussard said. "The young boys, (Jonathan) Kuminga, (Donte) DiVincenzo, Jordan Poole ... 'cause they're not getting minutes."
In Game 2, Jonathan Kuminga only logged four minutes with zero shot attempts, Donte DiVincenzo with only 13 minutes and zero shots. Jordan Poole played 16 minutes but struggled with his shot selection for only four points on 1-for-7 shooting.
The starters, on the other hand, obviously played a huge chunk of minutes with Steph Curry at 41 minutes, Klay Thompson at 31 and Andrew Wiggins at 39.
All season long, Golden State struggled to get back to the team it was last year when winning the championship. The Warriors don't have that kind of depth this time around. Whether it's the lack of experience or growth from the young players on the team, coach Steve Kerr could consider using all of his chips heading into Game 3 or end up falling beind 0-3 in the seven-game series.
Steve Kerr on the Warriors' Game 2 loss
After Monday's loss, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said:
"I thought we were competing. We hit some big shots. But they played better than we did down the stretch. I thought they were more physical tonight. It was an incredibly physical game. A lot of physicality, not much movement, not much freedom of movement out there. They were the aggressors, and I thought they benefited from being the aggressors."
The Warriors dropped both games in Sacramento to start the series, similar to how they performed in the regular season with a road record of 11-30.
With home-court advantage on the Warriors' side for games 3 and 4, they can get back into this series and even it 2-2 before heading back to Sacramento. But for now, they need to focus on one game at a time.