Warriors say they lack ‘competitive fire.’ How can they find it? ...Middle East

DENVER – Effort. There is no stat to measure it. It cannot be felt, moved or heard. 

But it can be seen. 

And it certainly can be noticed, both in its abundance, and in the case of the Warriors’ 129-104 shellacking on Friday night at the hands of the Nuggets in an Emirates Cup group stage matchup, in its absence. 

From Warriors coach Steve Kerr, to future Hall of Famers Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, to 25-year-old relative newcomers Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis, the team’s lack of competitive fire galled the Warriors. 

“We just had a lack of purpose and energy, really right from the start,” Kerr said. “Competitive fire, connection, a competitive edge. We didn’t have it.”

Yes, the Warriors have played their last two losses without Steph Curry, their best player and leader. But missing Curry did not excuse the team’s lapses. 

The absence of an edge manifested itself in almost every aspect of the game, but was most glaring on defense. 

“Our defense sucks,” Green said. 

No one would argue with that. The team has given up over 120 points in five different games, four of which were losses. 

The solution to this malaise is a simple one, Green and Post believed. 

“We’ve got to take pride in our individual matchups, we all have to play for each other and try to go at these guys on the defensive end, and play with force,” Post said. “Tonight, it didn’t feel like we did that. It felt like we were just kind of passive and let them attack us.”

Green agreed with Post, but also took the blame for the Warriors’ shortcomings on that side of the ball. 

“I failed,” Green said. “If our defense looks as (expletive) as it does, I’ve failed.”

But while Green took responsibility for the faulty defense, he and Kerr both said the younger players on the team shouldered responsibility for the showing. 

Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga shot a combined 10 of 29, and the poor offensive performance appeared to bleed into their effort on the other side of the ball. 

“Yeah, the game didn’t go their way, but there has to be some fire in the belly to get out of a tough night,” Kerr said. “It’s tough as a young player when things aren’t going your way and the game’s not going your way. It’s easy to kind of get down, and you can’t do that in this league.”

Sitting at his locker, Butler emphasized his opinion that it was not the responsibility of the coaching staff to make the younger players more resilient during those kinds of games. 

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“Obviously, one of the greatest coaches ever and an incredible coaching staff,” Butler said. “You can’t even point to them, because they put us in the position to be hella successful. It’s on us to go out there and execute. They do a hell of a job getting us ready.”

Now sitting at 5-5 after dropping four of their last five, the Warriors are staring down one more home game against Indiana before embarking on a six-game road trip. 

With Curry expected to be listed as questionable as he returns from Illness, Kerr expressed a desire to pare down the rotation going forward. 

“We’ve got a lot to work on, and a lot to consider,” Kerr said. 

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