Steve Kerr has some words for Brandin Podziemski after Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before their failure to land Lauri Markkanen or Paul George caught up to the Golden State Warriors and exposed the flaws of playing a team with only one star in a superstar’s league. For instance, the law averages would have cooled off Buddy Hield’s hot shooting eventually, and once it did, the Warriors would have to rely on their vaunted young core to produce and play smart basketball beside Stephen Curry. After Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets, Warriors coach Steve Kerr put Brandin Podziemski on blast for crucial mistakes that cost them the game.

“He can not be that guy. He can’t foul jump shooters,” Kerr said in his postgame press conference, via Warriors reporter Anthony Slater on X, formerly Twitter. “I love Brandin. Hell of a player. Hell of a future. But I hope he watches this clip because he needs to hear it.”

Steve Kerr critical of Brandin Podziemski’s decision making tonight vs Nuggets: “He can not be that guy. He can’t foul jump shooters. I love Brandin. Hell of a player. Hell of a future. But I hope he watches this clip because he needs to hear it.” pic.twitter.com/mMOXkd56Ui

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 4, 2024

Warriors lose to Nuggets after late rally

Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets marked the Warriors’ fifth straight defeat, as Denver leaned on three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to bail them out with 38 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and five steals while playing 40 minutes.

Still, while this game looked bad for the Warriors, it also showed the Nuggets’ heavy dependence on Jokic just to win games: in the eight minutes Jokic rested, Golden State outscored Denver by 19 points.

The Warriors had led by double-digits in the fourth quarter, but Jokic led his team to a 21-6 run while holding the Dubs scoreless for the last 2:32 to take a 119-115 victory, forcing the losers to face the Houston Rockets in a single-elimination quarterfinal game for the NBA Cup.

Moreover, to add insult to injury, the refs failed to call a technical foul on Michael Malone for calling a timeout for the Nuggets when he didn’t have any, which would have given the Warriors a free throw and possession, a chance to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left.

Besides criticizing Brandin Podziemski, Steve Kerr also called out the referees for this mistake that cost the Warriors the game. They could have regrouped in the extra period and hoped against hope that Jokic was too gassed to keep killing them for another five minutes.

Roster flaws

Ultimately, both teams must overcome significant flaws in their respective rosters if they want to contend in the West.

For the Warriors, overcoming the loss of Klay Thompson was only the first step. It’s clear now that their front office needs to swing a deal to add another star to Curry, especially with Draymond Green out and Kerr managing his minutes.

Whether it’s Zach LaVine, Brandon Ingram, or even the unlikely Giannis Antetokounmpo, they need another guy who can put the ball in the hole on command if they want to make another run in the postseason.

Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody are good young role players, sure, but they won’t make that much of a difference on a title team without stars to raise their play.