After the Golden State Warriors were subject to a second back-to-back in a week, head coach Steve Kerr took the opportunity to criticize the league for its scheduling habits, citing player safety as a factor that the NBA needs to take into consideration when making scheduling decisions.
Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr not happy with NBA’s scheduling
“The NBA in its infinite wisdom makes us play an 8:45 (p.m.) game and they clearly don’t care about rest or player health,” Kerr said after Wednesday’s 111–107 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sam Gordon. “It’s just ratings and all that stuff. So, I get it. Everybody’s got to do it. The whole league has got to do it. So, it is what it is.”
Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks concluded around 12:15 A.M. EST the next morning, and the Warriors then had to travel to Houston for a game against the Rockets at 8:45 P.M. EST. Kerr wasn’t sure if his main starters would take part in Thursday’s game given that it was the final one before the All-Star break, but they wound up playing and came away with a 105-98 victory.
As previously mentioned, this was the Warriors’ second back-to-back in a week. They played the Utah Jazz on the road on Feb. 5 and then traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers the following day. Golden State dropped both games.
The All-Star break will allow the Warriors to rest
Additionally, the Warriors closed out the first half of the season with six games in eight days, and concerns about wear and tear are valid, especially at this point in the season. Luckily for them, the All-Star break should provide an opportunity for players to get some much-needed rest as they continue their playoff push.
Golden State needs all the wins they can get the rest of the way. They are currently 10th in the Western Conference with a 28-27 record and 27 games remaining on the schedule. Their first game out of the All-Star break will be Friday, Feb. 21 on the road against the Sacramento Kings.