The Golden State Warriors have lost two straight after a strong start and the news and trade rumors have been ramping up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Curry’s Streak Over But His Defense Improves
Stephen Curry saw his streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer extend to almost a full season’s worth of games, but it ended in the loss to the Spurs this week at 76.
He was 0-7 from behind the line in the game.
His record is now the fifth-longest streak in league history.
Kyle Korver holds the longest record at 126 games.
Meanwhile, Curry has stepped up his defense this season, noted USA Today.
“Last year his defensive plus/minus sat at -.1, meaning per 100 possessions against a top-tier guard, he was on the losing end. This year he’s at a +4.5,” it said.
He’s become a better on-the-ball defender and also leads the league in steals at 3.5 per game.
“But that’s not the real story. It’s not so much that he’s made vast improvements as a dominate-your-man, on-the-ball defender — he’s converted into completely buying into the team’s defense philosophies, and shading his man towards where the help is build in,” it said.
“His improvements in these areas have made the Warriors defense, at least in the early part of the season, go from good to exceptional. These are the things that turn good teams into championship caliber teams.”
Iguodala Struggling
Andre Iguodala is struggling in his new role off the bench, scoring just two points and managing just two assists and five rebounds while committing four turnovers in 53 minutes in the losses to the Spurs and Suns.
Iguodala is trying to click with the second unit, including newcomer Shaun Livingston, and coach Steve Kerr understands that it will take time and that there are streaks of good play, and bad play.
“I thought (Iguodala’s rough night against the Spurs) was just one of those games. The Phoenix game, I didn’t use him the right way. I wore him down a little bit on the second night of a back-to-back. But he was brilliant against Houston. His defense changed the game for us,” Kerr told the Mercury News.
“It’s part of being in the NBA. There are ups and downs. I’m not worried about Andre at all. He’s one of our captains. He’s one of our smartest players. We’re figuring out some things, though. We’re new together, and we’re trying to play with some different rotations.”
Despite the rough stretch, general manager Bob Myers said on his weekly radio show that Iguodala is on board with continuing to come off the bench and fit in where he can.
“He’s aware he can play better, and he’s doing everything he can,” Myers said. “This guy’s a professional. He'll find his way.”
But the change has prompted some to call for Igoudala to be placed back in the starting lineup now that Livingston is healthy.
Barnes Playing Well
On the other hand, Harrison Barnes, who has been starting at small forward, is playing well.
Barnes posted a season-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting against the Spurs, along with 8 rebounds and a blocked shot.
“Harrison was fantastic,” Kerr told SF Gate. “Harrison is capable of that. It was good to see him get going.”
Kerr told Barnes to look to shoot more after Barnes attempted just nine shots in the two games prior to the Spurs game.
“That’s something I took to heart,” Barnes said.
“When you move and you have great shooters out there, you just fall into baskets. Whether its Andrew Bogut hitting you on a cut or Steph coming off a pick-and-roll and hitting you for a wide-open three, when we’re moving the ball like that, it’s easy to get great shots.”
Warriors’ Top Trade Targets
The Warriors have had some trade rumors already with their rotating lineups possibly needing sharpened by one or more players being shipped out and others being brought in.
Bleacher Report has identified the top three players that the Warriors are most likely to target in a trade.
One is power forward David West of the Indiana Pacers, a strong scorer who can still clean up on the glass.
“A player with his type of pedigree could absolutely change the laissez-faire attitude of the Warriors, one that has seem them lead the league in turnovers by a disturbingly large margin,” Bleacher said, proposing that the Warriors trade Barnes for West.
Another big body who could end up with the Warriors is Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons. The team has a logjam with Monroe, Andre Drummond, and Josh Smith, and Monroe would be the easiest to trade.
“David Lee has been unable to consistently stay on the court, and although Marreese Speights has played well in spurts, he was never the answer at power forward. Green has played well as a small-ball power forward this season, but there will be times when a conventional lineup makes sense,” it said.
“Monroe has the skills to work down low either alongside Bogut or in the center spot himself. Still on a favorable contract of just over $5 million a year, there wouldn’t be much of a cap hit.”
Barnes could also be exchanged for Monroe.
The third target is Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks, who would be a stretch 4 for Kerr.
“Ilyasova would have all the three-point opportunities he could handle playing alongside willing passers like Stephen Curry, Bogut and Andre Iguodala. His ability to make shots from outside would also help open up the paint for Curry and Klay Thompson, who has improved tremendously at getting to the basket,” it said.
“The price for Ilyasova, however, would most likely be David Lee. Watching Lee go after all he’s done over the years would be tough, but the fact is he’s become injury prone over the years and his defense has not improved. He too could use a change of scenery and the Milwaukee Bucks can provide that.”
See an Associated Press recap of the Warriors loss to the Spurs below.
OAKLAND, Calif.—Steve Kerr approached Gregg Popovich on the court, smiled and shared a laugh with one of his mentors following his first home loss as coach of the Golden State Warriors.
“I just told him, ‘Thanks a lot for picking tonight to play your best game of the year,’” said Kerr, who also was hoping Popovich would rest his regulars.
Instead, Popovich played his veterans on consecutive nights — and they delivered.
Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 19 and the restless San Antonio Spurs beat the Warriors 113-100 on Tuesday night.
“I’m really proud of them. Back-to-backs are difficult for an older team, but I thought they really showed a lot of focus and played with a purpose,” Popovich said.
The defending NBA champions leaned on their aging Big Three — Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan — to pull off California’s most difficult double. The Spurs rallied past the Clippers 89-85 on Monday in Los Angeles before cooling off one of the league’s hottest teams in Oakland.
Popovich said he went with his regulars because it’s early in the season, the Spurs have the next two days off and his veterans wanted to play.
“We know in the West, it’s a beast, and you don’t want to take too many games off because it’s tough to catch-up,” Parker said.
Klay Thompson scored 29 points after missing the previous game with a sprained right hand, and Harrison Barnes had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors, who have lost two straight after a 5-0 start under Kerr.
The first-year coach seemed more at peace with the loss than he has after some wins this season. Kerr credited the Spurs for playing a near mistake-free game and said there wasn’t much his team — or any team — could do when the Spurs are at their best.
“Look, I retired 12 years ago, and the same three top players and the same coach are still over there. It’s insane,” said Kerr, who won two of his five NBA titles as a player under Popovich.
San Antonio played the kind of all-around game that has defined the franchise for more than a decade. The formula worked perfectly against Golden State, which entered the night leading the league in field-goal percentage (49 percent) and turnovers (22.3) per game.
The Spurs’ reserves outscored the Warriors’ bench 40-20. San Antonio also forced 20 turnovers and committed only eight, and the Spurs had eight offensive rebounds.
That helped the Spurs take 23 more shots than Golden State and offset a night when the Warriors outshot them 54.3 percent to 49.5 percent.
“They’re the champs for a reason,” Thompson said.
Duncan had 12 points and 13 rebounds in 36 minutes. Ginobili scored 17 points in 26 minutes, and Parker shot 11 of 17 from the floor in 30 minutes as San Antonio grinded out another win.
The Spurs controlled the game most of the way until a brief run by the Warriors sliced San Antonio’s lead to six in the fourth quarter. Parker answered by converting a three-point play over Stephen Curry and followed with a 3-pointer to stretch San Antonio’s lead to 108-96 with 1:52 to play.
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TIP-INS
Spurs: Tiago Splitter (right calf tightness), Marco Belinelli (mild groin strain) and Patty Mills (right shoulder surgery) sat out. ... Duncan needs eight points to reach 25,000 for his career, which would make him the 19th player in NBA history to hit that mark.
Warriors: Golden State waived Nemanja Nedovic, the 30th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He did not play this season. ... David Lee (strained left hamstring) remains out for at least another week.
STREAK SNAPPED
San Antonio held Curry to 16 points, and Golden State’s star guard was 0 for 7 from 3-point range, ending his streak of 75 straight games with at least one make from beyond the arc.
SPOTTED IN THE CROWD
Former San Francisco Giants slugger and home run king Barry Bonds, and Warriors Hall of Famer Rick Barry were among those in attendance.
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