Warriors find ways to measure success amid easy stretch
SAN FRANCISCO >> Steve Kerr’s thoughts before the Warriors’ extended homestand could be summed up in two words: “Too long.”
But halfway through, there hasn’t been any struggle to keep players engaged, Kerr said Sunday before Golden State tipped off against Houston in the fifth of eight consecutive at home.
“So far, so good,” Kerr said. “I think everybody’s in a good spot. It’s been a pretty good schedule for us. We haven’t overworked our guys. We’ve had some days off. Everybody’s in a good mood because we’re playing well and we’re having some fun.”
Winning cures all, and the Warriors have been winning — by a lot. The Warriors won their past three games entering Sunday by at least 20 points, after starting the home stretch on a sour note with an overtime loss to Memphis.
Including Houston, however, Golden State’s opponents since their lone loss have a combined winning percentage of .282.
How much weight can be put in a 7-1 record that features only one win against a team above .500?
Andre Iguodala, an 18-year veteran, said the Warriors’ early success can be a trap, if they get complacent. Beating outmatched teams, though, isn’t anything to scoff at, he said.
“There is something to taking care of games you’re supposed to take care of,” Iguodala said. “So we’ve gotta finish out the home stretch and continue to have the right mindset in terms of not looking at our record, but looking at how we’re playing and how we’re improving through each game.”
As long as Golden State is checking the right box in the win-loss column, the Warriors aren’t concerned with the margin of victory so much as how the win came together.
• Did they meet their goal of 12 or fewer turnovers?
• Were they getting open shots on offense?
• Was there effort on the defensive end?
“Eventually you play everybody, so it’s just a matter of controlling what you can control,” Stephen Curry said. “For us, you’ve got to focus on getting no matter who you’re playing ... (to) allow us to be the team we want to be. ... And then as we go through the year, continue to measure ourselves against whoever we play. I like where we’re at right now. We’re obviously a much better team than we’ve been the past two years, and we have to continue to prove that every night.”
The Warriors play their first set of games on consecutive nights this season starting with Houston on Sunday.
One thing that is better at home: back-to-back games.
Iguodala, 37, was the only player Kerr felt needed a rest day Sunday ahead of today’s game against Atlanta. He is still nursing a sore left hip from a hard fall earlier this season.
“I think everybody’s in a pretty good place right now,” Kerr said. “It’s not as difficult of a back-to-back as some of the others we’ll face later on where we’re traveling and getting into cities really late or whatever.”
Kerr made use of a day off at home Saturday to head down the peninsula to Santa Cruz and catch rookie lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga in action with the Warriors’ G League affiliate.
He hasn’t felt the need to switch up anything in practice to keep players interested — yet, at least.
“Maybe later in the week it will get a little tougher as guys get restless,” Kerr said.
Notes
Klay Thompson (Achilles) and James Wiseman (meniscus) won’t travel with the Warriors on their upcoming East Coast trip. Instead, the rehabbing duo will stay home and ramp up their work to return to the court, Kerr said. “That would be the idea: ramping things up while we’re on the road. We have the resources to be able to put them through the work . ... Both guys will stay behind with some of our coaches and training staff and we’ll be putting together a plan for them as the days approach.”