Dub Hub: Steph Curry says Warriors aren’t ‘built’ to overcome large deficits

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, January 7th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steph Curry explains why the Warriors aren’t “built” to come back from large deficits.
• Steve Kerr comments on Moses Moody’s lack of playing time.
• Pelicans’ Zion Williamson available for Tuesday’s game vs. Timberwolves

The Golden State Warriors suffered one of their worst defeats of the season on Sunday night after losing to the Sacramento Kings, 129-99. The Warriors trailed the Kings by 24 points at halftime, and never got it close as Sacramento cruised to a wire-to-wire victory.

After the game, Stephen Curry explained that Golden State has to avoid slow starts because they aren’t “built” to overcome large deficits.

Making the loss even more troublesome was that Curry was having a great night shooting the ball on Sunday. He was 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-8 from the three-point line. He finished his night with 26 points along with seven rebounds and one steal.

Having said that, his strong performance was not enough to overcome the Warriors’ offensive struggles. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Curry’s brilliance alone is not enough to carry this team to success on a nightly basis. With the trade deadline about a month away, the Warriors will have some interesting decisions to make if they want to avoid wasting another year of their superstar point guard’s career.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, January 7th:

Warriors News:

Steph Curry and the NBA’s most confounding paradox | ESPN

“I’ve been doing this for years,” Kerr says. “I took a lot of heat during the pandemic season because I was sticking to my guns and playing Steph 34 minutes a game, giving him about an eight-minute break in each half. And I used a line that became infamous around here when I said, ‘We’re not chasing wins.’ And people were like, ‘Then what the hell are you doing?’ and the answer was, ‘We’re saving Steph. We’re preserving him for his career.’ I probably shouldn’t have said the quiet part out loud, but I’m fine with admitting a big part of my job is not running Steph into the ground.”

Why Tuesday marks important Warriors deadline for Waters, Santos | NBC Sports Bay Area

NBA contracts become fully guaranteed on Jan. 10. But teams must make a decision for their books on Jan. 7. Any player who has a non-guaranteed contract will have his deal become fully guaranteed if he’s under contract through Jan. 7 of that league year.

Sources have told NBC Sports Bay Area that Waters and Santos will have their contracts guaranteed for the remainder of the season, and the choice was obvious for numerous reasons.

Jimmy Butler trade scenarios: Warriors? Suns? Which landing spots make the most sense? | The Athletic

This was the best deal I could construct that achieves multiple goals across organizations. For Golden State to acquire Butler on its own, the Warriors would have to put together a five-for-two swap that often gets complicated midseason, but involving a third team makes things a bit easier. In this deal, the Warriors get Butler while avoiding moving rising young forward Jonathan Kuminga. This is possible because the Warriors acquired Schröder on Dec. 15, allowing him to be aggregated again in the final two days before the deadline. Essentially, they’d get to upgrade from Wiggins and Schröder to Butler, as Butler provides the playmaking they acquired Schröder for as well as the defensive play they need from Wiggins all in one player. Butler would also theoretically fit well within Golden State’s offense, as he’s a deft off-ball mover.

NBA Power Rankings: Cavaliers and Thunder are 1-2 entering Wednesday’s showdown | The Athletic

The Warriors are the NBA’s worst free-throw shooting team, but when they get there with volume, everything is better. Golden State is 7-1 this season when attempting at least 25 free throws, with the lone loss coming against the Cavaliers. Of the eight games when the Warriors attempted at least 25 free throws, they only cleared 80 percent in one of those games — the season-opening smackdown at Portland. Unfortunately, they just lost the only player on the team who attempts more than 3.5 free throws per game for most of the month after Jonathan Kuminga’s serious ankle injury.

Steve Kerr speaks again on Moses Moody’s playing time

NBA News:

Pels’ Zion Williamson declared available vs. Timberwolves | ESPN

Williamson, who returned to practice last week, had been listed as questionable on Monday before being upgraded Tuesday afternoon.

He has not played since a Nov. 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, missing the past 27 games for the 7-29 Pelicans.

Injuries have plagued the Williamson’s career, limiting the 2019 No. 1 pick to 190 games over five and a half seasons. He has career averages of 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Mavs’ Kyrie Irving out at least 1-2 weeks with bulging disc in back | NBA

With Irving and Doncic out, the Dallas offense is missing 52.4 points per game.

“It’s important for everyone in uniform,” Kidd said of making up the scoring shortage. “Being short-handed, it’s the next-man-up mentality. … We can’t replace Luka or Ky, so it’s going to take a team effort.”

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Celtics’ Jayson Tatum named NBA Players of the Week

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Warriors uncompetitive in ugly loss

It was a chance for their first three-game winning streak since November 15, and just their third of the season.

They blew it, and were blown out.

The Warriors never led in a wholly uncompetitive affair against a Kings team that, after losing their first game following the firing of head coach Mike Brown (and dropping to 13-19), has now rattled off four consecutive victories.

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