On February 17, Beijing time, the Warriors defeated the Nuggets at home 116-117, and suffered a 16-point reversal. Stephen Curry shot 10-of-19 from the field, 1-of-7 from three-point range, and scored 25 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, and he scored 2+1 in the final moments of the game to help the Warriors surpass 2 points, but in the end he gave Morris a chance because of the pinch Nikola Jokic, who made the Warriors hate to swallow. Obviously, the Warriors' loss of this game surprised many fans, and the coach Steve Kerr's on-the-spot command of this campaign was also questioned by fans, and even sprayed on Twitter.
The defeat upset Curry, who could have been the team's winning hero, but unfortunately paid the price for his aggressive defensive choices. Speaking about Morris's last killer goal, Curry said that the other side hit a key ball, and he gave the other side that shot. "I was deceived, I misjudged, I was one step too late to defend... The last thing you can do in that situation is to let your opponent shoot three points and I let go," Curry said.
Warriors coach Kerr praised the Nuggets' performance in the final stages of the game after the game, and although the Warriors scored under the basket in the last minute by Aaron Gordon, Jokic and Morris, Kerr also said that the team is now understaffed and will have more options when Draymond Green and James Wiseman return. For the defeat, Cole also said that he would stay up all night, feeling remorse for some on-field adjustments that did not work.
Even if Kerr didn't specify any changes, according to Warriors reporter Marcus Thompson, Kerr most likely referred to the last-minute substitution of Peyton Jr. (6 steals in this campaign) and Kevin Looney. The roof leaked during the overnight rain, and Cole was also questioned and complained by many fans after the game, and even sprayed on Twitter hot search. Fans have questioned and criticized Kerr mainly for payton Jr., who replaced the game with 6 steals at the last minute; the Warriors have lost 4 of their last 5 games (only won the Lakers), and some of the team's rotation decisions are debatable.
Given the Warriors' recent poor form, Kerr should indeed rethink his rotation arrangements for some of the timeframes. In the last game against the Clippers, Curry had a fiery hand in the first half of four consecutive three-point shots, but was replaced by Kerr soon after, which was also a turning point in the game, when Curry was replaced and frequently shook his head, shouting that his hand felt hot.
In this campaign, Payton Jr. was replaced just after getting his sixth steal, and such a substitution is also debatable. In order to allow players to rest and reduce the risk of injury, regular rotation can be "pinched and replaced" most of the time, but sometimes it is necessary to flexibly combine the consideration of the battle situation and pay more attention to the emotions of the players, rather than replacing them when they play, which is equivalent to "breaking the siege" of the opponent in disguise.
Nuggets coach Mike Malone praised the team's performance after the game, especially the three-pointers that limited the Warriors well, the Warriors only had 10 of 34 three-pointers, and Klay Thompson and Curry only had 3-of-10 and 7-of-7 three-pointers, respectively. Malone's slashing tactic in the fourth quarter was a good result (Looney made 2 of 6 free throws during the Nuggets counter-attack) and became a turning point in the game. Speaking of this, Malone said that the tactic of cutting Looney was actually desperate, mainly not wanting Curry or Thompson to take the ball, and he did not expect this strategy to work, because Kerr kept Looney defending Jokic, which changed the game.
While the Warriors haven't been in a good shape, losing four of their last five games, their next game is after the All-Star Game, which gives them a good respite. The Warriors need to get back on track through this period of rest, after all, the end of the All-Star Game means that the pace of the playoffs is also very close.