Steve Kerr explains why Steph Curry is playing less: ‘We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes’

After Golden State’s loss to Minnesota this Sunday, fans were wondering why coach Steve Kerr kept Stephen Curry watching from the bench while the team desperately needed their superstar on the floor. The veteran guard watched as his team took blow after blow until they eventually were defeated 114-110. 

Although the athlete later admitted that he was ready and expected to come back in to save the Warriors, he stayed on the bench for 11 consecutive minutes. Six minutes before the end of the game, he returned and gave his squad a push, but it was already too late.

“I want to play as many minutes as I’m fresh and able to, so I’m a little bit [surprised] knowing that they were going on a run,” said the four-time champion, who competed for a total of 30 minutes. “Our lead was withering away.”

“If you want to say [Steph Curry] playing 30 or 32 minutes was the difference in a win or a loss, I totally disagree.”

— Steve Kerr 👀

(via @anthonyVslater)pic.twitter.com/Jhl56sHQ7S

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 25, 2024

During his time on the floor, Steph dropped 31 points in 9-of-21 shooting, with 5 three-pointers to his name. The Bay Area team was plus-6 during his time on the court, and minus-10 when he was benched.

Despite the stats, Kerr doesn’t want to pin their loss to leaving their star on the sidelines. “We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game after game,” he said. “We’ve put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years.”

“We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes … If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is a difference between a win and a loss, I totally disagree with that. We’re trying to win the game. And we’re trying to keep him fresh, too,” the tactician insisted.

Last week, Curry explained that the team should still learn to build healthier habits, especially if they end up qualifying for the playoffs. “What Steph is saying is if we don’t build the habits, it doesn’t matter,” his coach explained. “You make the play-in, you don’t, if you don’t have the habits you’re not going anywhere.”

Curry somewhat agreed with his coach’s decision as he played the entire fourth quarter vs. Pacers last week and still lost

Despite the superstar’s frustration of not playing enough this Sunday against the Timberwolves, he recognised that him competing the entire fourth quarters is not necessarily the solution. Last Friday, he played 35 minutes in total, but wasn’t able to overcome Indiana.

“I played the whole fourth quarter against Indiana and it didn’t work out, this didn’t work out [against Minnesota]. We’ve got to find somewhere in the middle,” the veteran explained, in a way agreeing with his coach’s decision to bench him.

Curry believes he will be ready in case Kerr needs him to play more minutes. “The situation will define itself in real-time. Every game matters as we’re inching closer to the other end of the standings we never thought we would be in. No one is going to wave the white flag and say we are mailing it in. If that means playing more minutes, I’ll be ready to do that,” he assured.

After these last weeks, the Warriors have been falling down the Western Conference’s standings and now maintain their hopes to enter the postseason through the play-in ticket, as they sit in the 10th position with a 36-34 mark.