Unexpected Warriors Player Takes Blame for Loss vs Miami Heat

One Warriors player took the loss exceptionally hard.

The Golden State Warriors were absolutely embarrassed by a shorthanded Miami Heat team last night. One would expect Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, or Chris Paul to take the loss exceptionally hard, but it was someone else entirely - Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski.

Podziemski spoke to the media after the Warriors' loss to the Heat and essentially put the loss entirely on himself. It was a surprising amount of onus for someone who's only a 20-year-old rookie.

"A lot of that falls on my plate," Podziemski. "I'm the guy that's supposed to bring energy and hustle plays and effort plays. I didn't do that tonight. I can usually gauge that by how many steals, deflections, and rebounds I get. Tonight, was probably my worst performance of the year in that case. I think it starts with me. Coach said it was his fault he didn't get us prepared and whatnot, but I'm in that starting group for that reason. I just don't think I brought that energy and effort tonight like I usually do."

"Tonight was probably my worst performance of the year."

Podz doesn't feel his energy and effort was where it should be pic.twitter.com/8ogKniNfvJ

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 29, 2023

Despite how hard Podziemski was on himself, he still had a solid game. The rookie put up 10 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds on 44% percent shooting from the field. In all honesty, Steph Curry should be the one to shoulder most of the blame for his performance, but it's amazing to see a rookie stand up and take the cause.

"I come in every game expecting to win, but like I said, we didn't bring," Podziemski said. "It's my fault. I was very surprised just on our all-around performance collectively, both of offense and defense. Four of their best players were out tonight, and you knew other guys were going to come in and step up. It's part of their culture and they did that."

Thursday night was only one game for the Warriors. While it may have been a horrible loss, it's still only one game. They'll have a chance to make it right on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Related Articles

Klay Thompson Shares Strong Message Amid Contract Rumors

Steve Kerr Reacts to Warriors Receiving Zero Championship Votes in GM Survey

Steve Kerr Gets Brutally Honest About Warriors vs. Lakers