Stephen Curry

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Schröder, Podziemski

December 20th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors‘ worst loss of the season featured a historically bad performance from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. As Golden State fell to Memphis by 51 points Thursday night, Curry and Green were both scoreless from the field in the same game for the first time in their long careers as teammates. Curry was 0-of-7 while missing all six of his three-point attempts, while Green misfired on all four of his shots.

“First time for everything, right?” Curry said. “I never thought that would be a situation or a result of the game. From the very jump, they kind of punched us in the mouth. We didn’t have an answer. … That was kind of embarrassing.”

Coach Steve Kerr expressed the same sentiment after a night where nothing went right for the Warriors. Golden State trailed by 31 points at halftime and 46 when Kerr removed his starters for good midway through the third quarter. They allowed Memphis to set a franchise record by making 27 three-pointers and have now lost nine of their last 11 games after starting the season 12-3.

“You lose by 51. That’s humbling,” Kerr said. “So what I know about this team, this is the second time we’ve been blown out. We got blown out in Cleveland early in the season, so I know who we are. I know what our team is about. I know we’ve got competitors. I know we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to regroup, so I’m not concerned about that. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to execute.”

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There were some spacing issues with the offense as Dennis Schröder played his first game since being acquired from Brooklyn, observes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Schröder, who was in the starting lineup as Kerr moved Jonathan Kuminga back to the bench, contributed five points and five assists in 22 minutes while shooting 2-of-12 from the floor. “It’s challenging (acclimating to Golden State) and I love that,” he said. “Coming to a new organization with great players, I want to see what they do first. Of course, I’ve got to play my game. But I still like to feel comfortable but it’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Brandin Podziemski should benefit from the Schröder acquisition because his ball-handling duties will be reduced, Gordon adds in a separate story. Gordon notes that Podziemski’s numbers have declined from last season when he had more freedom to get open for shots. “He’s best when he’s on the weak side,” Kerr said, so that when “somebody else creates, the ball starts to move, now he’s cutting, putting it on the floor and making a play for somebody else. I think we’ll see more of that now that Dennis is here.”
Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle contends that the Warriors were wise to trade for Schröder rather than continuing their fantasies about LeBron James or pursuing a more expensive option like Jimmy Butler.

Pacific Notes: Leonard, Schroder, Van Arsdale, Bronny

December 17th, 2024 at 8:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kawhi Leonard, who has yet to make his season debut as he rehabs his right knee, took part in two non-contact practices last week. Noting that Leonard has “progressed very well,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue didn’t offer any real hints about when his star forward might suit up, but said Kawhi may accompany the team on its upcoming two-game road trip.

“I think we’re going to be more excited to have him for a full practice,” James Harden told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “We don’t really have contact practice, but when we do, just contact practice and then games. So, he’s inching his way back towards the court and take his time. Whenever he’s ready, we’re ready for him.”

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Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that newly-acquired Dennis Schröder will take some of the offensive burden off Stephen Curry. “We need a pick-and-roll player right now,” Kerr said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “The last 10 games, our pick-and-roll efficiency is dead last in the league. Teams are loading up on Steph. You can’t ask him to run every pick-and-roll. Dennis is a pick-and-roll player.”
Suns legend Dick Van Arsdale has passed away at the age of 81, the team’s PR department tweets. He was the first selection in the expansion draft to build the Suns’ roster and scored the first points in team history. Van Arsdale earned three All-Star selections, was a member of the team’s NBA Finals team in 1976 and retired as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer in 1977. Van Arsdale was also a broadcaster and front office executive for the franchise.
Lakers rookie guard Bronny James will participate in the NBA G League Winter Showcase this week, Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN report. The Lakers’ front office and James’ agents at Klutch Sports partnered on the plan to have the guard play in the Orlando event as another step in his development, the ESPN duo adds. Bronny has averaged 20.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over his past three games for the South Bay Lakers.

Warriors Notes: Schröder, Trade Talks, Kerr, Green, Curry, Wiggins

December 14th, 2024 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors expect their trade with the Nets to be finalized in time for Dennis Schröder to begin practicing with the team early next week and make his debut Thursday night in Memphis, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The deal will reportedly send Schröder and a second-round draft pick to Golden State in exchange for the expiring contract of De’Anthony Melton, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, along with two-way player Reece Beekman and three second-round selections. It can’t be completed until Sunday when Melton becomes trade-eligible.

The two teams have been in sporadic trade talks for weeks, Slater adds. He confirms reports that the discussions at one point included a larger deal involving Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, but those negotiations fell apart. He hears that Golden State preferred a simple trade for Schröder, giving them much-needed scoring help without sacrificing any of their young talent. Schröder was the only player who had been discussed in the last few days, Slater adds.

Schröder, 31, is a veteran guard who brings plenty of playoff and international experience. He will run the offense whenever Stephen Curry is resting, but the Warriors also envision having them on the court together, according to Slater. Coach Steve Kerr has been running 11- and 12-man rotations for much of the season, but Slater points out that Schröder’s arrival is likely to mean reduced roles for Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and others.

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Kerr, Curry and Draymond Green were all advocates for acquiring Schröder because they’ve faced his German team so often in international competitions, states Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter video link). The trade won’t prevent the Warriors from “big-game hunting,” according to Charania, who adds that the team remains “active in the hunt for a star player.” He also points out that Golden State can aggregate Schröder’s contract in another deal before the February 6 deadline if necessary. The Warriors have been prominently mentioned in Jimmy Butler trade rumors, but other desirable targets could become available.
The Warriors weren’t happy about being knocked out of the NBA Cup with a controversial loss Wednesday at Houston, but it did give them a break in the schedule, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. They’ll have three days off following Sunday’s game against Dallas, which gives them the rare chance to concentrate on practice and film sessions. “I think it’s really beneficial for us to get some more practice time. During the NBA season it’s really hard to get really good practices in,” Kevon Looney said. “We get to work on all the execution things. The small things that we keep talking about on film. We can actually go out on the practice court and work on the kinks.”
Curry and Andrew Wiggins are both listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest, Slater tweets. Curry is experiencing inflammation in his neck area, and Wiggins is dealing with adductor tightness.

Warriors’ Kerr Rips Refs For ‘Unconscionable’ Call After NBA Cup Loss

December 12th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

After the Warriors fell to the Rockets in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday by a score of 91-90, a furious Steve Kerr blasted the officiating crew for a late-game call that led to Houston’s winning free throws, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I’m pissed off,” the Warriors’ head coach said. “I wanted to go to Las Vegas. We wanted to win this Cup, and we aren’t going because of a loose ball foul, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, and that was ridiculous.”

With Golden State up 90-89 and about 10 seconds left on the clock, Stephen Curry missed a three-point attempt and both teams scrambled to corral the rebound (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report). Warriors guard Gary Payton II initially fell on the ball and attempted to pass it to Jonathan Kuminga as two Houston defenders descended on him. Rockets guard Jalen Green gained control and attempted to call a timeout while Kuminga tried to pry the ball away from him.

A whistle blew at that point, but rather than calling a jump ball or a Rockets timeout, referee crew chief Bill Kennedy ruled that Kuminga had committed a foul, awarding Green two free throws with just four seconds left on the clock. Green made both to give the Rockets the lead and Brandin Podziemski had a buzzer-beater attempt blocked by Jabari Smith Jr. to clinch Houston’s win and its spot in the NBA Cup semifinals.

“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called,” Kennedy told a pool reporter after the game in explaining the call on Kuminga.

Kerr, who referred to the foul call as one an “elementary school referee” would have made, argued that the game’s officials had allowed plenty of physical play to that point and that the foul called on Kuminga was hardly the only contact that occurred during the fight for the rebound off Curry’s miss.

“I’ve never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen that. I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago. Never seen it in the NBA. That is, I mean, unconscionable.

“I don’t even understand what just happened. Loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket, and you’re going to give a guy two free throws to decide the game when people are scrambling for the ball. Just give them a timeout and let the players decide the game. That’s how you officiate. Especially because the game was a complete wrestling match. They didn’t call anything.

“So you’ve established you’re just not going to call anything throughout the game. It’s a physical game. And call a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation with guys diving on the floor? With the game on the line? This is a billion-dollar industry. You got people’s jobs on the line.”

Curry, who was also upset after no foul was called on one of his shot attempts earlier in the fourth quarter (video link), expressed dissatisfaction after the game with both rulings. He admitted that the Warriors, who didn’t score in the final three minutes of the game and were still up by six points with 90 seconds to play, had to take responsibility the loss, but made it clear those officiating decisions didn’t help.

“We can talk about the refs all day, it’s not why we lost,” Curry said. “But there are swings in the game, obviously the last two free throws and that play, it’s a five-point swing.”

Kerr was also critical of the officiating crew after a loss to the Nuggets last Tuesday, screaming at the referees as the game ended and griping about a late-game call during his post-game media session. He wasn’t disciplined by the NBA for those remarks, but seems very likely to face a fine this time around.

Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Curry, Green, Harden, DeRozan

December 6th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green available on Thursday vs. Houston, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga had his best game so far this fall — his 33 points, seven rebounds, and 33 minutes were all season highs, and as Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, Kuminga played an important role in crunch time to help Golden State secure a hard-fought victory.

Kuminga’s role and playing time have been inconsistent this season, in part because the Warriors have such a deep rotation and head coach Steve Kerr has been adamant about starting a center next to Green. Kuminga, who has been in and out of the starting lineup, has been at his best when he’s played at power forward rather than at the three alongside Green and a center. Kuminga has been at the four in each of the Warriors’ past two games, starting next to Looney in the frontcourt with Green sidelined.

“The floor has been opened up a little bit the last couple games for JK,” Kerr said. “But can we get him out there more with Draymond, with Loon? But as a (power forward) like he’s been playing the last couple of nights. That’s really the key. We just have a lot of guys, so we have to sort through all this. But there’s no question we can do more of this.”

As Shams Charania said during a Friday appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today (Twitter video link), the Warriors continue to seek a star to complement Curry after missing out on Paul George and Lauri Markkanen over the offseason. The question, Charania says, is whether that star needs to be acquired externally or whether a current Warrior like Kuminga could still become that player.

“That relationship between Jonathan Kuminga and Steve Kerr is something that Warriors officials have been monitoring over the last year or so,” Charania said. “How he fits in when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will be interesting to monitor.”

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The Warriors should get a chance on Friday to assess how to best use Kuminga with both Curry and Green available. According to Slater (Twitter link), both players are listed as probable to play vs. Minnesota. Curry was out on Thursday due to bilateral knee injury management, while Green missed back-to-back games with left calf tightness.
After spending a few years as a secondary offensive option in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, James Harden has been back in a featured role as the Clippers‘ offensive engine this fall — his usage rate of 30.3% is his highest mark since his last full season in Houston in 2019/20. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), Harden has been “almost universally” praised within the Clippers’ organization for his leadership and offensive impact, and sources close to the team have cited his bond with new assistant Jeff Van Gundy as an important factor in Harden’s day-to-day preparation. The Clippers guard is also dedicated to getting “the most sleep of his life” to stay sharp at age 35, Windhorst adds.
Within that same ESPN Insider story, Windhorst and Bontemps spoke to rival NBA executives who questioned DeMar DeRozan‘s fit with the Kings, pointing out that the veteran forward operates in the same areas of the court as De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis and “hasn’t driven winning” in San Antonio, Chicago, and Sacramento. While the Kings are off to a disappointing 10-13 start this season, it’s unclear whether the fit of the DeRozan/Fox/Sabonis trio is the issue. As Bontemps observes, the club has a +6.5 net rating in the trio’s 420 minutes on the court together.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Leonard, Green, Curry, Warriors, Nurkic

December 6th, 2024 at 9:48am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Lakers suffered a 41-point loss to the Heat on Wednesday, their fourth loss by 20 or more points in their last seven games and their worst loss of the season. During the game, it dawned on JJ Redick that his team has become lost after a 10-4 start to the year, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

“We’re having trouble right now on both ends with, like, base-level game-plan stuff,” Redick said. “It’s odd. It’s very odd. … [There] has to be some ownership. You can splinter, and it’s easy to not want the ownership, particularly when it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. We’re all embarrassed. It’s not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism.

“There has to be some ownership on the court, and I’ll take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I lead it and I’m embarrassed. But I can’t physically get us organized. I can’t physically be into the basketball. I can’t physically talk and call out [switches] and physically call out coverages. … And by the way, I’m not blaming players. It’s not. I own this, but going to need some ownership on the court as well. … There’s not a sense from me that we’re together right now.”

LeBron James broke out of a recent shooting slump in the game, delivering 29 points, but didn’t push back on Redick’s assertion, stating that it was on the players to right the ship, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha writes. Anthony Davis has just 20 combined points in his last two games and agreed with those sentiments.

“I hate losing,” Davis said. “The way we’re losing, we’re playing bad, blown out. I’m not playing well individually. It’s an accumulation of things and it’s frustrating. … And it’s on us. It’s on us players, to be honest. We’re getting the schemes. The schemes are on point. But we just gotta go out and do it and execute ’em. But I just gotta step up for the team.”

Redick went on to state that “there’s not a sense from me that we’re together right now.”

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Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who hasn’t played this season while dealing with a right knee issue, is expected to return to the lineup sometime “before Christmas,” Bill Simmons of The Ringer said on his podcast. We recently relayed that Leonard was doing on-court work and “progressing well,” but that there was no timeline for his return. The Clippers have gone 14-10 in his absence and sit in sixth in the Western Conference standings. While Leonard’s return, whenever it comes, will obviously be a major boon, it’s important to note that the Clippers have already expressed they’ll exercise caution to ensure he remains healthy for the long run. While this is just speculation at this point, that could include curbing his minutes or having him sit out one end of back-to-back sets.
Draymond Green exited Tuesday’s game against Denver due to calf tightness and underwent an MRI on Wednesday. According to Warriors PR (Twitter link), the MRI was negative, but Green missed Thursday’s game against Houston. Stephen Curry also didn’t play Thursday, but head coach Steve Kerr said the plan is for Curry to play Friday against Minnesota and that it’s “possible” Green suits up too, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. “Steph’s knee stuff the last couple of weeks … he’s in pain,” Kerr said. “We’re not playing him. We can’t play him through this stretch every game and expect him to get through. … And same thing with Draymond, otherwise you’re chasing your tail and then guys end up missing weeks at a time.“
After starting the season 12-3, the Warriors have dealt with injuries and blown leads alike to fall to 13-8. Even amid their injuries, the Warriors have had a deep rotation all season, with 12 players (not including De’Anthony Melton, who suffered a season-ending injury) averaging double-digit minutes per game. “With everybody healthy, the strength of the team is the depth,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “… [But] I think [our] weakness is almost the same thing. There’s very little clarity for me and the staff as to who we should play every night down the stretch. We probably have had different lineups closing the game for the last five games. So good and bad with that. But it does help when you get some separation and you know for sure kind of who your group is. We’re not sure what that means yet.“
Suns center Jusuf Nurkic hasn’t played since Nov. 27 while dealing with an ankle injury. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Nurkic’s recovery timetable is likely to be similar to Kevin Durant‘s. That means he’s probably out for at least the next week, which would mean missing three more games at minimum.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Moody, Kuminga, Waters, TJD, Looney

December 1st, 2024 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

After returning to action on Saturday following his Wednesday absence due to tendinitis in his knees, star guard Stephen Curry explained that he and the Warriors are trying to stay ahead of his knee soreness to ensure that it doesn’t become an ongoing issue, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“(It) has the potential (to be) like a nagging type thing if you don’t take care of it,” Curry said. “I’m not worried about it, not concerned about it at all. It’s just the deeper you get into your career, the more things pop up and you just got to figure it out. … Honestly, I was happy to get through this one playing 30 (minutes) and not feeling it go the other way. Feeling like I was pretty strong. I got stronger as the game went on, and (my knees) responded well.”

As Youngmisuk writes, Warriors VP of player health and performance Rick Celebrini has a plan in place to manage the issue, according to Curry, who said it’s possible that could mean sitting “a back-to-back here or there.”

“He’s 36,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “This is all part of getting older and managing his minutes, his body, and Rick and his staff are the best in the world at what they do, and we’re working together every day on this stuff. So we’ll figure it out.”

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Following a 12-3 start this fall, Golden State lost a fourth consecutive game in Phoenix on Saturday, leading to more questions about whether the team ought to continue using 12 or 13 players on a regular basis. Curry was asked directly whether the Warriors need to tighten up their rotation a little more, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays. “Do we need to shorten it?” Curry said. “We probably need to be more predictable on a night-to-night basis so guys can get a little bit of a rhythm. Is that shortening it one or two guys? Maybe.”
Slater suggests that the Warriors’ super-sized rotation and inconsistent usage of certain players has “fairly clearly impacted” fourth-year guard Moses Moody and forward Jonathan Kuminga. Moody logged a season-low three minutes in Saturday’s loss, while Kuminga missed his first eight shots of the game before going 4-on-4 down the stretch as part of a small-ball lineup. Slater wonders if the Warriors may try to get Kuminga more minutes without a true center on the court in order to help get him going. “Can we get him more minutes with Steph and Draymond (Green)?” Kerr said of Kuminga. “He’s better with those guys. Most guys are. We have a lot of things to think about.”
With Kerr acknowledging that a shortened rotation is a possibility he’ll consider, Slater explores what that might look like, suggesting that Lindy Waters – who came off the bench on Saturday after starting seven consecutive games – and Trayce Jackson-Davis – whose 111.9 defensive rating is the worst among Warriors regulars – are among the candidates to lose playing time. Jackson-Davis has started 18 of 19 games so far, but Kevon Looney opened the second half with the starters vs. the Suns and is a candidate for a promotion to the starting five this week, Kerr hinted on Saturday.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Wiggins, Spencer, Jackson-Davis

November 30th, 2024 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry is expected to play tonight in Phoenix after missing Wednesday’s game with bilateral knee pain, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). In a pregame meeting with reporters, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said both Curry and Andrew Wiggins will have to go through warmups before a final decision is made on their status. Wiggins is dealing with a right ankle impingement, but hasn’t missed any games this month.

Curry sat out Golden State’s last contest after playing four games in six days, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francsico Chronicle. He was able to make it through Friday’s practice without an issue, and the Warriors will need him back on the court for another Western Conference showdown after they missed 14 straight shots in Wednesday’s loss to Oklahoma City.

Kerr talked to Gordon about the 12-man rotation he’s been using, which results in numerous five-man lineups during the course of each game. Kerr admitted that building chemistry hasn’t been easy under those conditions.

“What we have to narrow down is — with certain groups, what are three things that we can run really well? That’s on us as coaches to get to that point,” he said. “What’s tricky is, we’ve got a lot of different combinations night after night. It takes a little while longer to really settle into all these actions and patterns.”

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Curry’s absence on Wednesday resulted in the first significant opportunity for two-way player Pat Spencer, Gordon adds in a separate story. Making his fourth appearance of the season, the 28-year-old point guard delivered six points, four rebounds and three assists and had a plus-nine rating in his 14 minutes on the court. “It feels good to get minutes, but I think we have a whole team that can play,” Spencer said. “Might be right back out of the rotation. Might be in it the next game. The goal for me is to impact winning and unfortunately, we didn’t get that done. Keep moving forward.”
The Warriors are happy with the production they’re getting from Trayce Jackson-Davis, but they would like to see more emotion from him, per Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Kerr said he wants the second-year big man moving at full speed all the time instead of sometimes lapsing into a “home-run trot.” “Your makeup is your makeup and he’s not an overly aggressive human being,” Draymond Green added. “So to expect he’s going to be this overly aggressive person on the court, that’s not really realistic. … As a leader it’s on me and (Kevon Looney) to get that fire out of him, to push him.”
Green took the blame for the team’s late-game scoring lapses in the loss to OKC, relays Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Without Curry on the court, the Warriors couldn’t match baskets with the talented Thunder. “Just got to settle down and make sure we get into something,” Green said. “Get into some sets. We were a bit scattered, and that’s on me. When the game gets to that point, somebody has to slow the game down and get us into a set. I’m the veteran out there. I’m the one with the most experience out there.”

Pacific Notes: LeBron, Davis, Suns, Warriors, Curry

November 27th, 2024 at 5:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

An unexpected development for the slumping Lakers has been losing the minutes when their two stars are on the court together, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Going into Tuesday night, L.A. was being outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 365 minutes that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both in the game.

There are several glaring issues with the James-Davis lineups, Price adds. No matter who else is paired with them, the groups haven’t rebounded well or forced enough turnovers, and they’re letting opponents shoot high percentages from the field.

The inability to gain an advantage when their best players are sharing the court has contributed to the Lakers’ recent slowdown after a 10-4 start, but coach J.J. Redick doesn’t consider it to be a cause for alarm.

“Not concerned, not concerned at all,” Redick said. “It’s more diving deeper into the why and trying to self-correct that.”

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Tuesday’s return of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal has the Suns looking like an elite team again, observes Doug Haller of The Athletic. Durant and Beal sparked a 27-point rout of the Lakers in an NBA Cup game and provided a reminder of how good the team looked during its 8-1 start to the season. “I just wanted to be out there with the guys,” said Durant, who missed seven games with a strained left calf. “Wanted to travel. When you’re injured, you’re still a part of the team, you’re still on the roster, but there’s a level of separation you have (with guys who are playing). I just wanted to be part of the group again.”
Defense has become an issue for the Warriors in their last two games, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. They let a 17-point second half lead slip away in Saturday’s loss to San Antonio, then squandered an 18-point lead Monday against Brooklyn. The Warriors ranked 25th in team defense in those two games and allowed an atrocious 154.2 points per 100 possessions in the combined fourth quarters. Defensive issues were the focus of Tuesday’s practice. “Our communication wasn’t good and we didn’t rotate and trap the box how we normally would,” Kevon Looney said of Monday’s game. “(Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jerry Stackhouse) talks about us being early, being aggressive and I think we were a half-second late on everything.”
After being listed as questionable on Tuesday, Warriors guard Stephen Curry will sit out tonight’s game against Oklahoma City with bilateral knee pain, Gordon adds in a separate story. This will be Curry’s fourth missed game of the season, and Golden State has won the first three.

Pacific Notes: Monk, DeRozan, Curry, Harden, Miller

November 26th, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings guard Malik Monk said the team would hold a meeting before Wednesday’s game in Minnesota. Sacramento enters the contest saddled with a four-game losing streak.

“We’re gonna say something,” Monk told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “I feel like we always say something after every loss, so (Tuesday) we’ll probably say something when we get to Minnesota.”

Monk’s comments came after the Kings gave up 130 points to Oklahoma City on Monday.

Monk said the team’s veterans need to speak up, specifically mentioning De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis.

“I feel like we’ve got a veteran team now with a few young guys, so we know how to turn it around,” Monk said. “Domas is going to say a few things, I’m going to say a few things, Fox will say a few things and DeMar will say a few things. We’ve got to turn it around quick, though.”

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Speaking of DeRozan, he won’t suit up on Wednesday. He experienced lower back muscle inflammation following Sunday’s game, Anderson tweets. DeRozan, noted for his durability, will be missing his fourth game this season.
Warriors star Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against OKC due to bilateral patellofemoral pain — patella soreness in both knees, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater tweets. Jonathan Kuminga, who participated in Tuesday’s practice, is also listed as questionable due to illness.
The Clippers had a five-game winning streak snapped by Boston on Monday but they’re still three games above .500. James Harden said good chemistry has led to their success, despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard. “We’re coming around, and we’re understanding who we are,” Harden told Law Murray of The Athletic. “Understanding that in order for us to have a chance at anything, we know we have to do it every single night. And that’s the most exciting part. And then, one thing about this team, we’re all happy for each other. Literally, it can be anybody’s night, on any given night. Nobody’s going to be upset; everybody’s going to be happy for each other. And things aren’t always going to be perfect to win games. But even when we lose, we’re still happy for each other. Good things will happen most of the time.”
Jordan Miller, a 2023 second-round pick, has received steady playing time over the last six Clippers games due to injuries. The two-way player has averaged 8.2 points per game during that stretch. “I’m trying to leave a good impression because I don’t know what it’s going to look like when (Norman Powell) gets back,” Miller told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “But they can see that I’m a solid player, and if anything ever goes wrong (injuries) or if we need a spark, Coach will be more confident in me moving forward versus me not playing.”

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