Golden State Warriors: Which Is More Important Now, Momentum or Rest?

By Maggie Pilloton | Apr 5, 2015

The Golden State Warriors have a dilemma. It’s a nice situation to be in, but it’s still a question that needs to be addressed.

The Warriors have already clinched the Pacific Division title, the Western Conference title, and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Given this information, which is more important for the Warriors heading into the playoffs, maintaining and building on the momentum that they have built recently or resting players?

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ESPN NBA analyst Brad Daugherty was asked this question recently, and his answer was that the Warriors need to find a balance between momentum and rest. He said that resting players will be crucial heading into a playoff run that the Warriors hope will be a long one, but that also can’t get in the way of the Warriors losing momentum heading into the playoffs.

Steve Kerr has shown that he is willing to give his key players games off. For example, in a game against the Denver Nuggets a few weeks ago, Kerr decided to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut, and Andre Iguodala, because Kerr said that he could tell that those players needed a night off.

As Kerr explained to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, the Warriors have added a tool that can scientifically determine if a player needs rest or not.

"The Warriors also used SportVU player-tracking cameras and Catapult Sports’ GPS technology to determine any risk to continuing to play them without rest.“We can tell when a guy is run-down,” Kerr said. “It’s not just the eye test. It’s scientific data.“It can be quickly reversed with a couple of days rest. It can also go south if you overload a guy.”"

After that game, Kerr said he might rest these players again once or twice more during the rest of the season.

Finding balance is one of the hardest tasks for any coach in any sport. Kerr certainly faces a challenge over the course of the rest of the season in finding the appropriate balance between momentum and rest.

Momentum heading into the playoffs is vital, as it allows the team to enter a high-pressure, high-stakes situation like the playoffs with more confidence, and it keeps the players in rhythm. It also can make or break a playoff run. In addition, too much rest can sometimes be a detriment, as it brings players out of the normal flow of a game and of an NBA schedule.

However, when preparing for a potentially long, tiring playoff run, rest is necessary to a certain degree, especially for the players that have appeared in almost all 82 games in the regular season and that average significant minutes per game. Coaches need to keep their players fresh, both physically and mentally, in the hopes of preventing extreme fatigue or injuries.

Now that the Warriors have secured home court advantage throughout the playoffs, there’s not much more to accomplish the rest of the season, in terms of standings. Because of that, which becomes more important, momentum or rest?

Even if it’s difficult to find, balance is key. It seems as if Daugherty is correct that the Warriors will need to find a way to balance both momentum and rest heading into the playoffs. That’s easier said than done though.

Next: Warriors Mailbag: Rotation, Bogut/Green, Title Expectations

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