Warriors’ Steve Kerr says he ‘feels terrible’ for fans after resting starters in Cleveland

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he feels bad for the fans after his starters rested Friday, adding that he would like the NBA to cut its schedule by 10 games to limit player fatigue.

Regardless, the defending champions still defeated the Cavaliers, who were without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell.

“I feel terrible for the fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don’t get to see that person play,” Kerr said after the 120-114 win. It’s a brutal part of the business. That’s why I’m going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons.’

Following the Warriors’ overtime loss in Boston on Thursday night, Kerr sat out superstar Steph Curry along with starters Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on Friday night against the Cavs.

Curry, who recently returned after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury, played 43 minutes and scored 29 points in the Warriors’ 121-118 loss to the Celtics in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals. won by Golden State.

Kerr’s decision meant fans were deprived of perhaps seeing Curry at a shooting clinic like he did at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at last year’s All-Star Game. This is the Golden State’s only visit to Cleveland.

The decorated coach’s reasoning is that a shorter season would better protect the health of the players, balance the schedule and improve the overall quality of the game. More importantly, it would keep players fresh for the playoffs when games mean the most.

“You take 10 games off the schedule, it always feels like there are 10 games left in the year, everyone had it anyway,” he said. ‘That creates enough rest where we don’t have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you would see a lot less games lost by players.

Only Jordan Poole was available among the starters Kerr used against the Celtics. Poole also played 43 minutes in Boston.

Kerr has been juggling his rotation of late as he tries to balance returning injured players and getting adequate rest. Curry was sidelined by the shoulder, while Wiggins missed 15 games with a leg muscle strain and a non-COVID illness.

Kerr has also been trying to pull his team out of a season-long slump. The Warriors are 22-23 and just 5-18 on the road.

He said the decision to rest all four of his players against the Cavs had nothing to do with the loss to the Celtics.

“You can’t operate that way,” he said. ‘I know it’s a big topic in the league. We have much more data. Much more awareness of the vulnerability of the players. It’s proven that if guys are banged up, back to back, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games and that’s why you’re seeing it all over the league.

Everybody’s being cautious when they hit a guy. You’re just playing the long game.

While the Warriors are severely shorthanded, the Cavs have sat out star guard Donovan Mitchell for the second straight game with a groin strain.

Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff believes there is a greater benefit in giving players more rest. He extends the runs, therefore giving the fans a chance to appear to be playing longer.

“You look at these guys and they’re playing 15-year-olds against some 20-year-old guys,” he said. ‘So it’s a trade of five games a season and you get five more years of these guys playing. So I think in the long run, the fans get their money’s worth because the guys get to extend their career and play more years.

‘I know from our point of view that you can only see a team once a year. I know it can be frustrating for the fans if those guys don’t play, but I think for the greater good of the game, having these superstars and elite players for multiple years and multiple seasons, I think is only good for the game. ‘

Cleveland is also without backup guard Ricky Rubio, who recently returned after missing a year following knee surgery. The Cavs are just being cautious with Rubio, who played 12 minutes against the Grizzlies.