Dub Hub: Steve Kerr hints at resting ‘tired’ Steph Curry after loss vs. Nuggets

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, March 18th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steve Kerr says Steph Curry is “tired,” hints at possible rest.
• Steve Kerr says the Warriors were “awful” during Monday’s 114-105 loss to the Nuggets.
• 76ers shut down Paul George for the rest of the season with groin and knee injuries.

The Golden State Warriors faced an interesting dilemma heading into Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry was listed as questionable prior to the matchup, and while Denver opted to rest stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, the Warriors opted to play Curry as they jockey for playoff positioning in the West.

The decision didn’t pay off for Golden State, as they fell 114-105 with Curry logging a team-high 36 minutes. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr stressed the need to get his superstar some rest.

Curry, however, refused to use exhaustion as an excuse for the team’s struggles, which included 20 turnovers—seven of them his own.

Jimmy Butler was the team’s highest scorer with 23 points on the night. If Curry is unable to play, he and the rest of the team will have to step up as they prepare for Tuesday’s second night of a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, March 18th:

Warriors News:

Steve Kerr committed to finding Stephen Curry a rest day, insists superstar guard is exhausted | NBA

“He’s tired. Steph’s been carrying us for a month, he’s been amazing,” Kerr said. “He’s tired, so we’ve got to get him some rest. You can see it, he just doesn’t have his energy right now.”

Curry shot 6 for 21 overall and 4 for14 on 3-pointers in just less than 36 minutes on the way to 20 points and also had seven assists and four rebounds, but committed seven of the Warriors’ 20 turnovers that led to 24 points for Denver.

“We try to take the pressure off him as much as we can,” guard Gary Payton II said. “He has a guy on his hip 48 minutes of the game. I’m pretty sure he’s a little gassed.”

Draymond Green: ”It’s Game 68, I think we’re all tired”

Steve Kerr on loss vs. Nuggets: “We were awful”

Warriors waste massive opportunity in disappointing loss to Nuggets | NBC Sports Bay Area

The Minnesota Timberwolves, tied with the Warriors in the standings but behind them because of the tiebreaker, lost to an Indiana Pacers team without their top players in overtime. The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Sacramento Kings. A win would have put the sixth-seeded Warriors within striking distance of getting to as high as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

It also would have set up a chance for the Warriors to win the tiebreaker with the Nuggets in their final matchup on April 4.

Now, the Warriors find themselves hanging on by a thread to stay out of the NBA play-in tournament one night before playing Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back.

Wade believes ex-teammate Butler has ‘perfect’ role with Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area

“If he stays in Miami, he has to be the star. He goes to Golden State, he does not have to be the star,” Wade said. “Shout out to Jimmy Butler for putting himself in a position that he can end his career the way he wanted to, and he got himself out of a situation where a lot would’ve been on him. Like, he wouldn’t have gotten that [two-year, $121 million contract extension] in Miami, possibly because you got to go out and average 25-plus, and you got to take us to this level for us to pay you as a star.

“Now, he moves to second, third and some nights, fourth option, where he can just be Jimmy Butler in his career [over] the last few years, doing the things he really, really does very well, and that’s all the things in the game of basketball. I love it. I love the fact that I get to see the Jimmy that I know at this point in his career.”

NBA News:

76ers’ Paul George shut down for rest of regular season | ESPN

George spent the past week consulting with doctors on the best treatment options for his groin and knee injuries. The 34-year-old has played through groin, finger and knee ailments this season, dealing with multiple injuries over the past month. Sources said George took painkiller injections for five consecutive games before the NBA All-Star break in February.

The 76ers said George will be unable to play for at least six weeks, which keeps him out for the remainder of the regular season. The 76ers are five games out of the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.

NBA refs create app aiming to improve play calls, expand pool of up-and-coming officials | The Athletic

“A lot of times,” said Sony Tiwari, chief executive officer of RefMasters, “when a call is hotly contested or goes to review, the thing that will be analyzed is whether the official was in good position or not. Most of the time, if a call is incorrect, or if there’s a question about its correctness, it will have to do with whether they are standing in the right place and putting their eyes in the right place. RefMasters is interested in using the data they’re collecting to identify what makes a good official.

“How do we sift through all the noise and get to the signal? When we think about data, what do you measure with the referee, what percentage of calls as an official get right or wrong? That’s really good, of course, but there’s a lot more that an official brings to a game than making a right or wrong call.”

Updated NBA Playoff Picture after Monday’s games

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Player grades: Warriors vs. Nuggets

Buddy Hield

21 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1-for-4 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 25.0% TS, 0 plus/minus

Bad Buddy Hield game.

Grade: D

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