Hats off to the Phoenix Suns! The 115-111 victory over Golden State Sunday night broke a five-year, 18-game losing streak against the Warriors, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
The Suns are 34th overall in the NBA standings. Courtesy of a Golden State collapse, the Phoenix has ascended to a 16-52 regular-season record.
Of his team’s latest stinker, Kerr said the loss was deserved:
It was the right outcome. They beat the crap out of us. … We laid an egg.
As for where he takes his team from here, Kerr didn’t offer much and it is unclear if he is now a man without a plan.
“I guess we got to look back in the mirror again,” Kerr said. “Take another look.”
Kerr first spoke of looking in the mirror after the Warriors’ 33-point drubbing by the Boston Celtics on Mar. 5. After practice the next day, he listed the areas he felt he came up short from a coaching standpoint and outlined a plan to get things moving in a positive direction.
Yet, the win-loss cycle continues.
The blowout loss to the Celtics was followed by a 17-point defeat of the Denver Nuggets three days later. The win over the Nuggets was followed by a four-point loss to the next-to-last-ranked Suns three days after that.
Kerr also has spoken of his team’s ability to bounce back from losses. The issue, however, is the team needing to bounce back every other game. By losing to the worst teams, the Warriors are not building a strong foundation to carry forward into the playoffs, and the losses are not helping the morale of the players.
Ready or not, Kerr will have to put his bounce-back theory to the test in the immediate future. Next up, the Warriors face Houston on Wednesday, Mar. 13, for the fourth and final game in the series with the Rockets. No matter the outcome of Wednesday’s game, the Rockets — with an 0-3 series lead — will win the series.
Adding to the week’s challenges, the Warriors also play the Thunder this week (Saturday, Mar. 16, at 8:30 p.m. ET, on ABC).
With Kevin Durant returning to his old stomping ground of Oklahoma City and the Warriors currently slumping, expect nationally-televised vitriolic jeering.
But have we reached the point yet for the #FireKerr fans to begin losing their minds?
