Of course, it's only preseason, but the Warriors lost nearly 22 balls per game during their four preparation matches. Only the Nets (24.3) and the Pacers (23.7) do worse, but in Golden State, all groups accumulate lost balls, even those who should play in the regular season.
“We are generally not quite there at this stage” reassures Steve Kerr. “But we have put in place our strategies, the offensive actions that we want to install.”
Like Victor Wembanyama at Spurs, Jonathan Kuminga has lost a lot of balls since the start of the preseason. But he is far from the only one, and it is necessarily a big problem for the Bay franchise, which has been one of the most expensive teams for many years.
Helping the “Big Three”
“We just need to reduce turnovers at the start of the match. Continue to space out the game » assures Gary Payton II. “We just have to position ourselves and play in the space we have. We have a lot of players who are good at occupying space, so if we give each other space it will go well. »
Since Steve Kerr took office in 2014, however, the Warriors have finished in the “Bottom 10” of teams that lost the most balls 8 times in 11 seasons. This is the consequence of the style of play advocated by the coach, with a lot of movements and cuts… but also of the greed of his players.
“There are only three guys… who are allowed to lose balls. For everyone else, it is prohibited. That's the rule.”concludes Gary Payton II, thus evoking Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler And Draymond Green. “Steve (Kerr) explains to them what we can do to help them reduce their turnovers. »
