Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr isn’t sweating his decision to bench Stephen Curry for the final defensive possession of the team’s Christmas Day loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Kerr, who chose to go with the length of the 6-foot-7 Shaun Livingston over Curry but watched as Kyrie Irving buried the game-winning bucket over Klay Thompson, said that he had no regrets about making the switch.
“We wanted more length,” Kerr said, per Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News. “Shaun gives us a lot of length — the ability to go up and get a rebound on a missed shot, if we need to switch something, we can switch like-sized. It’s nothing that needs to be discussed. Every player wants to be out there all the time, but we’re going to do whatever we think is going to be best for the current moment.
“He’s a big boy,” Kerr added about Curry. “He’s a two-time MVP. He’s an unbelievably mature, thoughtful person. He was, I’m sure, upset how the game went for him just like I was upset after the game. But in the end, we’re all together, win or lose, keep pushing forward.”
Regardless, the decision didn’t exactly sit well with Curry, who appeared to be sulking on the bench with his face buried in his jersey for the entire defensive sequence. He even admitted to some frustration in his postgame interview.
Kerr said recently that Curry is still in the process of adjusting to the new-look Warriors, and it sounds like that’s true on both sides of the ball.
