It’s the fourth quarter. Your team is fighting for a spot in the NBA playoffs in a tight game against the best team in the Western Conference. From the outside, this seems like a situation you would want Stephen Curry on the court if he is healthy. The Golden State Warriors star agrees. He expressed his surprise in a frustrated interview, lobbing a challenge at Steve Kerr.
“A little,” Curry said when asked if he was surprised by his time on the bench in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry takes aim at Steve Kerr over playing time
The enigmatic star rolled his eyes and chose his words very carefully, body language that signaled a need to tip toe around a touchy subject. He compared his minutes to the Warriors previous game, when he played the entire fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers.
“Played the whole fourth quarter against Indiana. Didn’t work out. This didn’t work out,” he said bluntly, before offering a challenge to Kerr. “So we gotta find somewhere in the middle.”
The 36-year-old did not get that chance against the Minnesota Timberwolves, even though his team needed to hold onto a 3-point lead entering the final frame against the top team in the West. The loss dropped Golden State to 36-34, only one game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the 10th seed and final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
What did Steve Kerr say about Curry?
Kerr, 58, downplayed the impact of Steph’s rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“If you want to say (Steph Curry) playing 30 or 32 minutes was the difference in a win or a loss, I totally disagree,” he said to reporters.
However, Warriors fans were quick to defend Curry in this situation, pointing out the pattern of Kerr’s coaching over the years.
“I feel for him… we’ve been witnessing a sabotage for two straight seasons,” a Dubs fan proclaimed on Twitter/X.
“Kerr finally getting exposed as a fraud carried by his roster,” wrote another disgruntled fan.
With just 12 games left in the regular season, the Warriors need to find answers quickly. If you find yourself debating how many minutes 4-time NBA champion Stephen Curry should play in the fourth quarter during the stretch run of the season, there are probably bigger problems at hand.
