Even if Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and others have struggled offensively, most believe that the Warriors' failures have been defensive.
Kerr must mix up his rotations to establish a reliable formula. He replaced veteran Kevon Looney with rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis and started Chris Paul over youngster Brandin Podziemski before Saturday's defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
Both performed well against the Mavericks, but it wasn't enough to fix the Warriors' season-long problems. Kerr pleaded with the Warriors to connect and stay focused after the Dallas loss, frustrated.
On Monday, the Warriors coach appeared less worried than almost 48 hours before.
“I know the areas we have to improve in, both on the floor and intangibly,” Kerr said. “I'm confident we can figure it out and become the team we expected coming into the year.
We got here via several situations. What they are. Coaching has taught me that every year is different. Injury and suspension surprises occur every year. It simply occurs. Coaching is about guiding the group through it, and my team and I are striving to do that now.”
After the defeat to Dallas, Paul and Curry discussed the Warriors' difficulties from that game and this season. Both said the squad needed to stay connected and were optimistic about things turning around
We have to get back to winning ways, doing things the right way, doing the simple things before it's too late,” Payton said. “We have to pick and choose when we want to come back with the connectivity and do things for each other, play for each other, and have trust on both sides of the ball.”