Stephen Curry won’t be mistaken for James Harden anytime soon, according to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
Curry wouldn’t be able to handle the offensive load Harden carries for the Houston Rockets, says Kerr.
Golden State (0-2) is struggling to find open looks for Steph early on in the season.
Per The Mercury News:
“I don’t know that it’s that simple,” Kerr said Monday as the Warriors got set to play the New Orleans Pelicans. “We can turn him into James Harden and give him the ball on every play, but that’s really hard to do. You have to build a team for that.”
Almost every Rockets possession follows a similar script: high pick-and-roll between Harden and a center with three other players positioned beyond the 3-point line ready to shoot if Harden passes them the ball. The 30-year-old Harden, at 6-5, 220 pounds, is uniquely qualified to shoulder that load over the course of a season.
“That kind of basketball wears you out, too. Especially for a guy who’s 180 pounds like Steph is,” Kerr said. “I don’t think it makes a ton of sense from Steph’s standpoint.”
The team is figuring out how to make the newcomers comfortable while maintaining those common threads that helped the Warriors go to five straight Finals. “They’re handling it, but they’re not enjoying it,” Kerr said of Curry and [Draymond] Green.
“What we have to figure out is how we can free him up better,” Kerr said. “And those are the things we’re exploring every day.”
