Steve Kerr met with the media following the Warriors’ 111-85 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Dubs broke a nine-game winning streak with the loss on Wednesday night.
After drawing the first charge call of his NBA career the other night at Oklahoma City, Jonathan Kuminga was proud of his effort and conceded it was a response to pointed stimuli from Draymond Green.
Not long ago, Draymond reminded his teammates that Stephen Curry “cannot be the leading scorer and taking all the charges.” JK listened. The jab worked.
Another jab from Draymond might be required if the Warriors to maintain the standard they’ve set this season: Kevon Looney can’t be the guy setting the screens and Curry can’t be the guy running the offense – and also be the primary rebounders.
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Such a message could be directed to all the other Warriors, but particularly Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga.
As the Warriors on Wednesday night were being clobbered on the glass (52-35) for the second consecutive game, this one a 111-85 spanking by the Jazz in Salt Lake City, Wiggins and Kuminga were mostly invisible.
They combined to play 51 minutes and grab five rebounds, Wiggins with three in 28 minutes and Kuminga two in 23. Both often commit the sin of standing flat-footed and watching the ball after an opponent shoots.
“Sometimes,” conceded Juan Toscano-Anderson.
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“I saw several of those tonight,” coach Steve Kerr said. “A shot goes up and everybody turns to look at the ball instead of looking at a man or looking a body to hit. We’ve got to get better.
“We need more from everybody when we’re in a state like this. We’re missing some people and getting beaten up by some bigger teams. It’s got to be a teamwide engagement on the glass.”
Size is a factor, but the primary components of great rebounding are position, anticipation and determination.
“If we’re having trouble on the glass, even if we are small,” Toscano-Anderson said, “it’s more of an effort thing than size thing.”
JTA didn’t enjoy saying that because it reflects poorly on the team. But it’s a true statement.
The Warriors are a smallish team in the best of health, but they’ve been particularly small past two weeks, with James Wiseman and Green unavailable. The players best equipped to assist Looney on the glass are Otto Porter Jr., Kuminga and Wiggins – the latter two, both at 6-foot-7, joining 6-foot-3 Gary Payton as the bounciest players on the team.
“Over the course of a game, we definitely need more from everybody,” Curry said.
So, it’s fair to expect more of Wiggins and Kuminga. Neither was a factor on the glass, while Curry and Looney each grabbed seven rebounds. Wiggins and Kuminga barely were factors Monday at OKC, combining for nine rebounds over 58 minutes, while Curry alone hustled for nine in 37.
Put another way, Curry had more rebounds (16) over the last two games than Wiggs and JK combined (14).
The Warriors were minus-17 in rebounding while losing to the Jazz, with Utah backup center Hassan Whiteside pulling down 17. They were minus-10 in victory at OKC, as Derrick Favors and Josh Giddey combined for 18.
“We’ve made a big deal of it in our film sessions,” Kerr said. “Just boxing out, especially lacking some size, having guys out. If we’re going to play small lineups, it’s imperative that every guy has to take part, either boxing out their man or double-teaming a guy like Whiteside, or Favors the other night.
“Instead of just standing there in the middle of the paint, they have to go crack down on one of those guys.”
That’s the message from the coaching staff, and it’s not a new one.
“They’ve been on us to make that a priority,” Curry said. “We’ve got to figure it out.”
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Small teams can rebound well. The Warriors have for most of the season, as all 7-foot-1 of Wiseman could do no more than watch. Looney has been a titan on the glass, averaging 7.6 per game, tying Green for team high. Curry, at 5.4 per game, is third.
For the Warriors to sustain their momentum, Wiggins needs to be at least slightly better than 4.3 rebounds per game. Kuminga, who spends his minutes as a “big,” has to be better.
Kerr won’t call out players in public; he does that in practices and video sessions. The effect on this issue has been negligible. Nothing gets through to a player better than words from a respected teammate. Draymond understands that as well as anyone.
