‘We’re in a completely different mindset’: New-look Golden State Warriors taking lumps during rebuilding process

AP

SALT LAKE CITY — Coming into Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, the defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors were coming off a 48-point beatdown in their previous game versus the Dallas Mavericks on the short end of a 142-94 blowout loss.

While the franchise is coached by the same staff that led the team to four straight NBA Finals, including two league titles, the roster looks nothing the squad that became “must-see TV” for the past several seasons, the one that boasted the likes of former league MVP’s Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, along with All-Stars such as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. But with Durant leaving via free agency for Brooklyn and the other three limited due to various injuries, GSW limped out to a 3-13 start — which has included a 122-108 loss to the Jazz in San Francisco on Nov. 11.

For Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, this season is one of transition and rebuilding for an organization that had become accustomed to winning basketball games with superstar talent leading the way to a team struggling to stay competitive with mostly unproven talent against teams like the Utah Jazz that are on the rise. He said the challenge his team faces has more to do with themselves rather than their opponent.

“Well, it’s not so much about the Jazz as it is about ourselves. We’re in a very unique spot,” Kerr explained during the team’s shootaround Friday. “We’re playing three rookies. We have eight guys (and) we don’t have a single guy from last year who’s going to be suiting up tonight to play, so we’re in a completely different mindset.”

Kerr acknowledged that he has watched some Utah games to observe how the team is playing with new point guard Mike Conley since joining the Jazz this summer. Thus far, he’s been impressed at how Conley has fit in with his new team and new teammates.

“I’ve seen him a couple nights on League Pass and then our one game against against Utah. (I’ve) always been a huge fan, (he’s a) great, great point guard, great leader and he and Donovan (Mitchell) form a really really potent back court,” Kerr said. “You’ve got (Rudy) Gobert diving to the rim for lobs and protecting the paint at the other end with Mike (Conley) and Donovan ball-hawking. There’s a reason this is a good team, they’re a good two way team — they’re good at both ends.”

Meanwhile, following their matchup with GSW, the Jazz face the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday on the second leg of back-to-back games on a two-game homestand before heading off on a five-game road trip to Milwaukee versus the Bucks on Nov. 25. They then go on to Indianapolis to play the Pacers on Nov. 27, back to Memphis for the second time this month to face the Grizzles on Nov. 29 before going north of the border to play the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 1, then finishing the final leg on a back-to-back in Philadelphia against the Sixers on Dec. 2.

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