The 120-99 loss to the Boston Celtics was a figurative cold shower of reality for the Golden State Warriors. Now, head coach Steve Kerr has officially abandoned any pretense of a late-season surge. Dealing with a roster decimated by injuries and mounting losses characterized by mental lapses and defensive breakdowns, Steve Kerr is being real about the Golden State Warriors’ chances. While he’s still waiting for Stephen Curry’s return, the head coach warned his players that their current level of execution is nowhere near the standard required for postseason survival.

Steve Kerr recently shared positive updates on Stephen Curry’s recovery from patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee. Curry has ramped up individual workouts, including sessions during the Warriors’ current road trip, and appears to be making steady progress toward a return. However, after another loss, Kerr’s message was blunt. This team is stuck in the play-in tournament, and without a radical shift in discipline, their stay there will be short-lived.

“What I’m most interested in right now is, can we prepare ourselves for the play-in? Like, I mean, we’re going to be in the play-in. We know that, one way or the other,” Kerr told reporters in a tense post-game press conference.

The coach expressed deep concern over the team’s inability to translate morning shootaround instructions to live-game action, when it comes to basic defensive coverages. “We gave up like three back-cuts early on after we had a shootaround this morning going through those very actions, and we completely messed up coverages three times in the first quarter. Cannot do that. Cannot happen. You want to win a playoff game, you better be locked in.”

Steve Kerr made it clear that effort isn’t the issue right now- it’s execution. The team is trying, but things just aren’t clicking when it matters most. As he put it, they’re basically taking “one step forward, one step back.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry is traveling with the team and working closely with trainers. He’s ramped up his workouts and looks like he’s getting close to returning.

The bigger problem, though, is how banged up the roster is. Moses Moody is out with a wrist injury and there’s no clear timeline for his return.

Al Horford is dealing with a calf issue and is expected to be re-evaluated around March 23. Seth Curry is sidelined with a mild adductor strain, De’Anthony Melton is out with a knee issue, Kristaps Porzingis is managing an illness, and LJ Cryer is dealing with a hamstring problem. With so many players unavailable, the Warriors have had to lean heavily on their two-way guys.

Steve Kerr reset the Warriors’ goals for Stephen Curry’s return

Yesterday, Kerr confirmed that Curry worked out in the Boston facility and aims to return to the rotation during this road trip. It appears that having Steph Curry behind the scenes makes a big difference as opposed to playing the main game without him. While relaying this update on Willard & Dibs yesterday, Kerr also declared that quitting is not an option.

At this point, Kerr raised the alarm with the remaining active players, telling them they cannot simply wait for Curry to save the season.

Their goal remains to create a stable environment for Steph to return to.  Kerr claimed that their previous goal was to catch up with the Nuggets in the sixth spot. But the sixth seed is 9.5 wins away or “out of the question,” as Kerr said. “If we can string together some wins—you know, try to get to eight—that’d be ideal. Get two cracks at it,” Kerr noted. The toughest competition to this new goal would be the Clippers.

But securing the play-in spot is only the first step. Eyeing Cury, Al Horford, and Moses Moody’s returns, Kerr said, “If we’re prepared when they get back, we can do some damage. We can go on a run, but we can’t have game-plan mistakes. We’ve got to build better habits—you know, boxing out, taking care of the ball in transition, being more efficient.”

For now, Kerr reset the team’s goals. It’s no longer about Steph Curry’s return, but surviving the season.