Kerr Embracing Warriors' Adversity: ‘This Is Going to Sound Crazy…'

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OAKLAND -- Steve Kerr and his staff have returned to the lab. After five losses in seven games, a massive slump by their standards, the Warriors are back to experimenting with the roster.

"We've had a lot of slippage in our game, and anytime you hit adversity it's a great time to reflect, a great time to reassess what you're doing," Kerr said. "We picked apart some things on the film that we can do much better."

Their timing is impeccable, as they happen to be at home all week and their next two opponents, the 76ers and the Magic, are a combined 48-86.

[RELATED: Steph Curry doesn't believe he's in a slump: 'Just missing shots']

Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors haven't looked like the Warriors. Their offensive spacing is easier to defend, and their defense in the paint is easier to exploit. Both offensive and defensive ratings have suffered.

"This is going to sound crazy: I kind of like it," Kerr said. "I actually kind of like it. You need some adversity. We obviously have some, probably for the first time in two-and-a-half years in the regular season.

"Adversity can help. It forces you to examine what you're doing and clean some things up and get right. This is going to be good for us in the long run, because we're going to tighten up a lot of things."

The Warriors prior to losing Durant were averaging 118.1 points per game and were held under 90 once in 59 games. In the seven games since, they've averaged 100.0 points and have been held under 90 three times.

"There have been times we've had slippage," forward Andre Iguodala said, "and we haven't been able to hold leads or continue to expand them."

The Warriors couldn't hold leads of three points against Minnesota, eight against Boston and, most surprisingly, 10 against Chicago.

The loss of Durant has thrown rotations into chaos.

Making it harder is the fact that Shaun Livingston, generally able to furnish offense with reliable midrange shooting off the bench, is struggling. He's 3-of-22 over the last six.

The upshot is there could be more Ian Clark and, maybe, more use of a big-man combo of David West and James Michael McAdoo.

"We may tweak some things in the rotation," Kerr said. "I'm going to explore some different things the next few games.

"No excuses now. We're home all week, the schedule turns our way . . . let's get back to who we are."

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