Steve Kerr laments Golden State Warriors' inability to close games: "We're 23-24 for a reason... We're not good enough"
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't mince his words when discussing the team's current situation following their loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Kerr lamented the Warriors' inability to close games after their 120-116 defeat at Chase Center.
The Warriors appeared to have solid momentum heading into the fourth quarter against a Kevin Durant-less Nets team with a 90-86 lead. They soon extended that lead to double digits as well.
However, they crumbled in crunch time to suffer a loss at home and fall to below .500 on the season yet again.
The frustration regarding the situation was evident in the manner with which coach Steve Kerr addressed the situation after the game. Kerr spoke about the Warriors' recent struggles in close-game situations to the media and said:
"Well, we're 23-24 for a reason, you know. We're not good enough yet to close games. We've got to get better. And so we make strides and feels like we're getting close and then we have a lapse."
"The games are nothing but a bunch of possessions stacked together. You have to execute and we've made some defensive mistakes. In that fourth quarter, I think we had a decent lead, 10-12 point lead in the fourth.
"Made some defensive mistakes and had some really bad offensive possessions and they got the momentum right back. So at this point, we're not good enough to consistently close games and we've got to keep working towards that."
“We’re not good enough, yet, to close games. We’ve got to get better.”
Steve Kerr explains why the Warriors are struggling to close out games https://t.co/CjjLOfveBd
Golden State finds itself in strange waters after crossing the midway point of the season. The Warriors were presented as favorites to repeat their title success, but have looked a shadow of their former selves this season.
A large reason for this lack of impact has been Golden State's inconsistent output on the court. This has certainly been reflected in their performances during close games. Sunday night's matchup against the Brooklyn Nets was the most recent example of this.
While the Warriors have done a great job of preventing losing slides, they haven't had much success in racking up winning streaks either. At 23-24, they are 10th in the West and barely clinging on to a spot in the Play-In tournament.
Read: David Aldridge doubts Golden State Warriors' desire to retain the NBA championship
The Golden State Warriors crumbled in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets
The Golden State Warriors did a solid job for the majority of their game against the Brooklyn Nets.
With Steph Curry back in the lineup, the Warriors offense was firing on all cylinders as their superstar racked up 26 points on the night. However, the momentum completely shifted midway through the fourth quarter.
The Warriors extended their lead to 13 points on the back of a Klay Thompson pullup jumper with just under seven minutes left on the clock. However, the Warriors struggled to execute on both ends of the floor in the aftermath of Thompson's shot.
Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton led the charge by attacking the rim and scoring time and again. On the other end, the Warriors whiffed on practically every shot attempt they had. Brooklyn built on this momentum to turn things around in the blink of an eye.
Kyrie Irving sealed the deal for the Nets as he ended the game with 38 points, while Claxton put up 24 points and grabbed 15 boards. The Golden State Warriors couldn't handle Irving's basketball IQ or Claxton's aggression and crumbled to another defeat.
With rising concerns regarding their ability to contend, the Dubs will need to find answers to their problems sooner rather than later.
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