NBA
Steph Curry, Warriors Held Players-Only Meeting On Christmas Before Loss To Lakers
Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry started off his Christmas Day at Chase Center by speaking up at a pregame players-only meeting to address their recent struggles before facing the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Golden State Warriors have lost 11 of their past 14 games, falling to 10th in the Western Conference standings
Although Curry went on to back up the talk with his best Christmas performance, leading the Warriors with 38 points, including eight points in the action-packed final 25.7 seconds, Lakers’ Austin Reaves scored on a driving layup with 1.7 seconds left to propel Los Angeles to a 115-113 victory.
After a 12-3 start to begin the season, Golden State has now lost 11 of its past 14 games to fall to 15-14, ranking second-to-last in the Pacific Division and 10th in the Western Conference. That ultimately led to Curry and his teammates assembling to brainstorm a solution to end their slump.
Trayce Jackson-Davis said the Warriors had a player-led meeting pregame and Steph Curry spoke, delivering a message that they’re at a pivot point of the season and, as TJD said, “this can go one way or the other.”
“He’s right.”
The Warriors are 3-10 in their last 13.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 26, 2024
“It is an inflection point on obviously which direction our season can go,” Steph Curry said. “Our last 14 games, it’s just been tough trying to find any type of momentum or consistency, and through that, you just can’t lose spirit and belief that we’re a good enough team to figure it out because this league is ruthless.
“This league changes from window to window of what you can fall back on, and when you dig yourself a hole like that, sometimes it can be hard to pull out of. So, we’re right in that window where we can still regain some momentum however many weeks before the [All-Star] break are pivotal or else [we are] in a situation where we’re chasing down the stretch. And nobody wants to be there.”
Warriors coach Steph Curry will consider resting Steph Curry to help him manage bilateral tendinitis in his knees
Golden State has plenty of time to bounce back if it can move on from its Christmas Day loss. The Warriors will play a back-to-back starting with a road game at the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and continuing at home Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.
“We’re down,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his team’s morale. “Everybody’s disappointed. We’ve lost some confidence. You can feel it. We had a great vibe early in the season, and we’re going through it right now.
“But I love our guys, high-character guys. They care. They care about each other. I believe in them. I believe we’re going to get this thing turned around, so this is all part of the season, part of life.”
However, Youngmisuk also reported that Curry might not be available to help Golden State (15-14) snap a two-game losing streak when the Warriors visit the Clippers at Intuit Dome on Friday.
Kerr said the team will consider resting Curry to manage bilateral tendinitis in his knees at some point over the next two games. The 10-time All-Star guard has missed five games so far this season. The Warriors went 4-1 in those contests without the 16-year veteran.
Per ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI), Golden State has a 45.8% chance to make the playoffs and a 69.1% probability to secure a spot in the play-in tournament. But the Dubs only have a 15.4% chance of obtaining a top-6 seed in the Western Conference.
Through 24 games (all starts), Curry has averaged 22.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 31.2 minutes per contest while shooting 44.4% from the field, 41.1% from deep, and 92.3% at the foul line.