Dub Hub: Steve Kerr says Warriors ‘lost juice again’ after blowing another big lead vs. Nets

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, November 26th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steve Kerr comments on back-to-back blown double digit leads for the Warriors, says the team “lost juice again” in the second half.
• Moses Moody says he hasn’t had the ‘luxury’ of rhythm throughout his career after scoring 15 points all in the first half vs. Nets
• Suns players Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal expected to return Tuesday night vs. Lakers.

The Golden State Warriors suffered their second straight loss on Monday night, falling 128-120 to the Brooklyn Nets at home. It marked another frustrating defeat as the Warriors squandered an 18-point lead in the second half—this following Saturday’s collapse against the San Antonio Spurs where they gave up a 17-point advantage.

After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reflected on the team’s struggles, saying Golden State “lost juice” in the second half.

Monday’s matchup marked the third game in four days for the Warriors. This was evident through their execution on both ends of the floor but especially on offense where the team conceded 26 points off of 13 turnovers.

While the Warriors’ depth has been touted as one of the team’s biggest strengths this season, the larger rotation hasn’t been as effective in recent games, particularly in closing out contests. Despite the struggles, Kerr says he doesn’t want to overreact to these past two losses and is instead hoping the team can figure this out after more practice time later this week.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, November 26th:

Warriors News:

Warriors again blow double-figure lead and fall at home to Brooklyn Nets | San Francisco Chronicle

For the second straight game, Golden State’s second unit struggled to engineer second-half offense as the Nets switched screening actions, denied penetration and embarked on a 34-11 run. The Warriors closing unit also couldn’t create enough advantages, losing by four the last 7:29. Brooklyn’s spread offense — organized in the first half by Cam Thomas (23 points) and the second half by Schroder — consistently could.

Curry diagnosed Golden State’s defensive shortcomings: “Tonight it was trusting that there’s help behind drives, not over-helping, and then kicking out to shooters. We’ve got to work on our communication and … the trust of how a five-man defense is supposed to run.”

Added Kerr: “We’ll get back to executing better. … Giving up 41 (points) in the fourth, that’s tough to overcome.”

Moses Moody talks about having a rhythm in games: “That’s not a luxury I’ve had throughout my career”

Steph Curry: “We’re playing pretty solid for the most part but there’s another level to get to”

Kerr explains minutes strategy for Steph in Warriors’ loss to Nets | NBC Sports Bat Area

“We usually pencil him in for 32 [minutes], and we like to keep it around that number,” Kerr told reporters at Chase Center. “We were able to give him a good rest in the first half because the second unit was playing really well.

“I don’t love to run him the whole fourth quarter and I like to have him close with some energy, and so that means if we can give him that last eight minutes — generally, I feel pretty good about that. But at that point, Brooklyn was rolling, and we couldn’t slow them down.”

Power Rankings, Week 6: Celtics take over No. 1 spot; Magic, Clippers enter Top 10 | NBA

That wasn’t the only ugly offense last week. Two of the Warriors’ four losses have come to the Clippers, with those being their two worst offensive games of the season (98.1 points scored per 100 possessions total). Over their first nine games (including three he missed), they scored 115.6 points per 100 possessions with Stephen Curry off the floor. Over their last seven, they’ve scored just 87.1 per 100 when he’s been on the bench.

NBA News:

Sources: Suns’ Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal plan to return vs. Lakers | ESPN

The Suns are 1-6 this season without the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

“That’s the No. 1 thing with our team: If we can be healthy, then we know who we can be. We’ve got to check that box,” Beal said Monday. “Our availability is our best ability. At the end, we can’t keep talking about it. We know what we can do but we’ve got to go out and prove it and continue to play. Kind of start the year how we did. ... Pick that back up and get back to where we left off and really take stride.”

Pelicans’ Elfrid Payton racks up NBA season-high 21 assists in third game back after two-year absence | CBS Sports

So where has Payton been? After a stint on the bench for the Phoenix Suns during the 2021-22 season, Payton’s limitations as a shooter kept him off of NBA rosters. A 28.9% 3-point shooter for his career entering this season, Payton was forced to rehabilitate his value around the league with stints in the G-League for the Indiana Mad Ants as well as the Osos de Manati, a Puerto Rican team. The Pelicans, his hometown team, gave him a chance to earn a roster spot in training camp, but he ultimately didn’t make the team.

LaMelo Ball scores 44 points in loss vs. Magic

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

It’s deja vu all over again as Warriors blow another huge lead

It’s the worst loss of the season right as the Warriors’ schedule starts to get very difficult. They get the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets on the road, and then the 12-6 Houston Rockets and a weekend homestand against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Look, it’s impressive that the Warriors are able to take enormous leads so regularly. But Kerr and his players need to figure out how to close games and decide on rotations or this promising start for the team could fall apart very quickly.

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