SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry concluded his 2025 NBA preseason Friday night as the best player on the floor, while the rest of the Warriors too often looked like the squad that fumbled and bumbled its way through the heart of last season.
You may recall the days and nights of “mid,†before Jimmy Butler III arrived to fill the role of stabilizing sidekick, helping Curry lift the team to heights it never would have achieved.
After the Warriors†performance in the preseason, they might welcome back Butler with a kiss.
Their most significant minutes in a 106-103 loss to the diminished Los Angeles Clippers were a festival of turnovers and errant shooting. In what often is considered a dress rehearsal for the regular season, there was more disorder than order.
The first quarter was an utter disaster for the Warriors, with 11 turnovers turning into 16 of LAâ€s 31 points. Golden State committed 23 turnovers in all, gifting the Clippers 29 points.
“Nine [turnovers] in the first six minutes,†coach Steve Kerr said. “That bothers me.â€
Brandin Podziemski committed three giveaways in the first quarter and finished with six. Draymond Green committed two in his first seven minutes and finished with five.
“A lot of turnovers, a lot of careless turnovers,†said Al Horford, who committed one turnover in 20 minutes. “I started with one, Iâ€m going to the post and threw it out of bounds. And I feel like after that, we just kind of snowballed.â€
Some chaos is natural, as injuries to Moses Moody and Butler – starters late last season – have Kerr shuffling through a variety of lineups, some of which might never again be seen.
Curry, who committed one turnover in 30 minutes, made no excuses for those who were on the court, no matter the lineups.
“I would say it was more sloppy play in general,†Curry said.
“But preseason is interesting because you’re trying stuff out, but there’s not as much game-plan preparation in the sense of, ‘What do the Clippers do?†We have a mentality to that kind of approach, and you save a lot of that for the regular season.â€
In short, the Warriors were keeping their regular-season plans under wraps. Didnâ€t matter that the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Brook Lopez and Chris Paul.
Golden Stateâ€s biggest concealment, though, was the absence of Butler. He is among the best in the game at assessing disarray and restoring order. On a night when the Warriors sorely needed that skill, he was missing his third consecutive game after tweaking his left ankle last weekend. He appeared in only two of the five preseason games.
He is, for this roster, a key ballhandler and, also, the cleanup man.
“Some of it [was odd rotations], but some of it is just careless play and lack of fundamentals,†Kerr said. “One-hand passes off the dribble when two hands are available. And if you have two hands on the ball, and the guy cuts as you’re passing, you can pull it back. But one hand, you throw it out of balance. And we had several of those. So, the fundamental stuff has to improve.
“But, you know, I think Jimmy solves a lot of that.â€
Said Horford: “I do think that once Jimmy gets back out there and all our guys, I feel like there will be more of an awareness, an urgency and understanding that we have to take care of the ball.â€
The Warriors committed 110 turnovers in their five preseason games, averaging 22 per game. Thatâ€s about six or seven more than Kerrâ€s comfort zone.
“We definitely had a turnover problem throughout the preseason,†Kerr said. “But Iâ€m confident that when the lights go on Tuesday, our guys will be locked in.
“We had a lot of mix-and-match lineups, but that’s not an excuse for the careless ones. So, we’ve got to improve. We need a couple of good days of practice before we head out to LA but I’m confident we can. We should be fine.â€
Taking care of the ball has been an issue with the Warriors for 11 seasons. It remains one of the points of emphasis for every game. Butler is the antidote. At least they hope he is.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.