Steve Kerr Remains Confident in Warriors' Steph Curry-Less 'Formula'

In the aftermath of the Golden State Warriors' Game 1 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which the Warriors lost superstar guard Steph Curry to injury, coach Steve Kerr stated that the team needed to find a new "formula" to win games. Kerr pointed to players such as Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis as those who needed to don an apron and grab a cooking utensil in the Chef Curry-less Warriors kitchen.

And while the Warriors benefited from Kuminga's 30 points and a Batman-esque performance from Robin, aka Jimmy Butler, the club still ultimately fell just short in Game 3, a 102-97 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday night. Despite two straight losses without Curry, Kerr remains confident in Golden State's Curry-less "formula."

"Really close, yeah," Kerr told reporters when asked how close he believes the Curry-less Warriors are to figuring things out. "I felt good about how the game went tonight, we just couldn't close it out. Again, give them credit. They made all the plays in the fourth. [Julius] Randle and [Anthony] Edwards really got going. We just couldn't quite overcome them once we got down."

"But we controlled much of that game. Up six, eight minutes to go—I liked where we were. We just couldn't finish. So, the formula looks good. We'll have some adjustments to make. But I like the matchup. I like what we were doing."

But Kerr did acknowledge the challenges Curry's absence creates, particularly from beyond the three-point line. Golden State shot an efficient 43.5 percent from three-point range, but hauled up just 23 attempts, a far cry from their averages in both the regular season and in the 2024-25 playoffs. In both losses sans Curry, the Warriors have been held below 100 points.

"Yeah, I mean it's hard to generate threes—you have to gain an advantage and get rotations," Kerr said. "It's hard for us to do without Steph [Curry], without our point guard in pick and rolls. And Jimmy [Butler} obviously is creating plenty, but it's different. It's not the same level of stretching the defense out like Steph does."

"So we've got to find ways to score more. To try to generate more shots. And we'll look at the tape and figure that out."

Curry, who suffered a left hamstring strain in the second quarter of the Warriors' Game 1 win, was expected to be reevaluated after a week, meaning he wouldn't be able to return until Game 6 at the earliest. Kerr and the Warriors, trailing 2-1 in the conference semifinals, will have to quickly find more ways to score.

Game 4 of the series tips off on Monday at 10:00 p.m. ET.