Steph doesn't mince words on Warriors' rocky start to '20-21

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Through two games, Steph Curry hasn’t quite looked like the MVP candidate some envisioned he would be for the Warriors with Klay Thompson out for the season. Curry is just 13-for-38 shooting over the Warriors’ first two losses, connecting on just four of his 20 attempts from 3-point range.

Draymond Green has been out and with a contingent of new faces making up the Warriors’ rotation, it’s understandable that Curry might take some time to fully gel and get comfortable after a short training camp and such a long layoff between games. But in answering the final question of his presser following another 20-plus point loss, Curry didn’t mince words regarding the team’s mentality at 0-2.

“Yeah, we need to win, immediately,” Curry said before rushing out to catch the Warriors’ bus from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

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There is no one single problem holding the Warriors back so far in the 2020-21 season. An organization that became known for its 3-point marksmanship over the past decade hasn’t been able to recapture its form, as open shots continue to clank off the rim. Coach Steve Kerr said during the preseason that he’d like to see the Warriors be a top-10 team defensively, but the Warriors have allowed 124 and 138 points, respectively, to start the season, albeit against two of the NBA’s top teams and former MVPs in Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Warriors’ offense during the team’s three title runs was the closest thing basketball has seen to poetry in motion, and Curry emphasized that he and his teammates need to remain balanced and zero in on execution.

“We just have to focus a little bit more,” Curry told reporters after Friday’s 138-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. “I think sometimes when things don’t go your way, you miss shots, there’s a tendency to force and press and just not think.

“Our group’s collective IQ has to get a lot better in those moments where you’re not making shots and try to get some easy buckets and working together to create good looks, and that’ll come with time.”

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There was a sequence in the second quarter in which high-priced offseason addition Kelly Oubre Jr. dribbled the ball for over 10 seconds before going to the hoop and drawing a foul while trying to score over three Milwaukee defenders. You can’t tell for sure, but it’s hard to imagine Curry and Kerr’s reactions here weren’t about Oubre’s decision not to try and move the ball, as captured by Twitter user @protectedpick.

Draymond Green’s return should make life much easier for Curry and the rest of the Warriors, especially on the defensive end. But Oubre and Andrew Wiggins’ tough starts don’t bode well, as many pointed to the two Kansas products on the wing as the X-factors for how far the Warriors will go this season.

Curry is a well-respected leader and wouldn’t call teammates out publicly by name, but he’s clearly demanding a better effort on all fronts from himself and his teammates.

Not normally one for much fire in the postgame comments, Steph sounds frustrated yet motivated to try and get the Warriors’ season back on track.

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