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Warriors’ Steve Kerr appears to grill Brandin Podziemski on sideline during Game 5 loss

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints
By Troy Finnegan | Last updated May 15, 2025 12:59 AM ET

The Golden State Warriors are heading home after losing four games in a row without Stephen Curry and bowing out to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the second round. The quest to survive until Curry could get back on the court came to an end with a 121-110 loss in Minnesota in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

One player that the Warriors have relied a lot on without Curry in the lineup is Brandin Podziemski, and it has been a mixed bag of results. Podziemski had a lot of rough moments in this series, but he did have a playoff career-high 28 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.

However, even a great Game 5 wasn’t without its low points for Podziemski. During the game, cameras caught a moment where head coach Steve Kerr appeared to be grilling the young guard.

What did Steve say to Podz? pic.twitter.com/3kZyZqrkaQ

— Chano (@chanodesigns) May 15, 2025

Podziemski lacked the consistency to keep the Warriors afloat without Curry, but he was far from the only one. Even the stars on the team, such as Jimmy Butler, failed to play at a high level throughout the series, and that is why the Warriors are going home.

This loss will be especially painful for the Warriors to take because they were very close to getting Curry back on the floor. With three days off between Games 5 and 6, there was a good chance that Curry was going to get back on the court for a possible Game 6 back in San Francisco.

As a result, the Warriors needed just one win in the last four games to push the series to at least six games. However, they were only competitive down the stretch in one game, Game 3, and blew a late lead in that one against a talented Wolves squad that has been executing at a high level in crunch time in these playoffs.

The Warriors now have some tough decisions to make this offseason as they try to run it back one more time with a contending team led by Curry. Podziemski showed enough flashes this season to be in that mix, and what the Warriors look like around those two and Butler remains to be seen.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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