As the Golden State Warriors watched their 21-point lead disappear against the New York Knicks, head coach Steve Kerr let his frustration spill over in a heated sideline moment he would later regret.

The shorthanded Warriors struggled to maintain control of the game, and Kerr’s irritation became visible during a tense sequence when he directed an animated jab toward rookie Will Richard, despite the play not being entirely his fault.

After the game, Kerr cleared the air and shared his perspective. “Well, I thought he could have caught the ball. It was a bad pass from BP (Brandin Podziemski). I was mad at Will because I thought he could have corralled the ball and not thrown. From my angle, it looked like he could have corralled the ball and made a jump stop. I was really upset with the whole team for the second quarter. That’s where the game got away from us a little bit.

So I was upset with him, but I kind of regret losing my composure a little bit there because it’s my job to keep the guys going, especially when we’re without so many players. So, you know, I probably shouldn’t have gotten as mad as I was.”

Kerr admitted that he initially thought Richard could have done better on that play, but now, looking back, he knows sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski overcooked the pass.

It occurred with less than two minutes remaining in the first half, and the Warriors were holding a 52-39 lead. Richard secured the steal and handed out the ball in transition, but Podz’s return pass was always ahead of him. Still, Richard tried and nudged the ball back, but they lost possession, and the Knicks would end the play with a three-pointer.

Steve Kerr would call the timeout, and instead of talking to Podziemski, it was Will Richard who had to endure the wrath. Fans felt it was favoritism towards BP and called it out. In fact, the head coach would even hurl, “The ball matters! The ball is everything!” directed towards Richard.

That’s why during the post-game media interaction, Kerr clarified his stance. He held BP accountable for the bad pass and for putting Richard in a tough spot. But by then, the damage was done. There was another moment that Kerr appreciated about Podz, despite it costing the team the victory.

Steve Kerr sides with Podziemski again

With the team missing 7 of the top 8 scorers, it was BP who had the team’s highest scores once again. But those 25 points also came with 4 turnovers and a major decision error in the closing minutes. The 23-year-old went for a 3 when the team was down 1, and went for a 2 when the team was down by 3.

In fact, BP missed the pull-up three-pointer with under 24 seconds left that could have given Golden State the lead. Even then, the head coach could have called a timeout to reset his players, but he didn’t. “Loved it. Didn’t want to call a timeout. I wanted to play in flow. I love it. Take the three, go for the throat.”

By the next Warriors play, they had only 15 seconds, and Podz, instead of nailing from beyond the court to tie the game, went for a layup. A few key situations were when the Golden State lost it, despite not playing like a shorthanded team.