This year has not gone according to plan for the Golden State Warriors. After bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy last year, they have run into a slew of issues this season. Their bench has been less-than-stellar, and they have been consistently unable to win on the road.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, they need to be on their A-game, especially if they want to secure a solid playoff seeding. After their Friday night win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Stephen Curry spoke about the importance of getting into a rhythm ahead of the postseason.
“Last year, we were terrible in the last 12 to 15 games. But the mindset is always there. You’re trying to put together a solid run leading into the playoffs,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Nobody wants to limp into the playoffs and then have to turn it on. I mean, we somewhat did that last year, but you’d rather not have that kind of uncertainty going in. No matter how it plays out, you want to be firing on all cylinders. And for us to bounce back and put together a solid string of games like we did [in] the last two on the road, tonight, and hopefully, over this homestand. You just want to feel good going into whatever the playoff picture looks like.”
The Western Conference playoff race is extremely tight-knit. And with how much the Warriors have struggled at times this season, there’s no guarantee that they even avoid the Play-In Tournament.
They have hovered around the .500 mark for the majority of the season, and unfortunately for them, so have most teams out West. They simply haven’t been able to separate themselves from the pack.
Stephen Curry Sounds Off on Jordan Poole
In addition, after the Warriors’ win over the 76ers, Curry spoke about how Jordan Poole’s top-notch play opened up the floor for guys like himself and Klay Thompson.
“It was a fun way to play and to see him go off,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube Channel. “And then they made a couple of adjustments. I got loose for a couple of shots. Klay got open. Everybody was a threat, and JP [Poole] started the whole thing for us. So, it’s just a matter of him being ready for whatever he’s asked to do and whatever the game requires. It might not always be crazy scoring, but it’s just being aggressive and being ready. And he was definitely that tonight.”
Jordan Poole Sounds Off on Warriors
Meanwhile, Poole spoke about the differences between this year’s team and last year’s team. He noted that his approach has changed because of it.
“Yeah, this is a bit different. We had a little bit different of a team last year,” Poole said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We had a couple of older guys. Different dynamic in terms of defense. It’s a bit different when you got certain guys out there like Loon [Kevon Looney] or Draymond [Green] or Wiggs [Andrew Wiggins] or Gary [Payton II]. They just have such a defensive presence, you can kind of freestyle a little bit more and play off of rhythm. Comes with chemistry. Comes with time. As for offense, I mean, try to just be aggressive, attack, get to the paint, and try to get these guys open looks. Try to get them easy shots. And then just kind of play off of that.”
