Warriors Probably 'Most Scrutinized Team' In NBA History, Steve Kerr Says

Head coach Steve Kerr believes the Golden State Warriors are probably the most scrutinized team in the history of the NBA following their home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas day.

The Warriors were trailing the Lakers on the back of an impressive LeBron James performance, until he left the game in the third quarter due to a groin injury with just under eight minutes remaining and the visitors leading 71-57 at the time.

Golden State were then able to come back into the game as they cut the deficit to just three points only to be outscored by 17 points in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers recorded an impressive 127-101 win despite not having James on the court.

It means the Warriors are now 23-12 for the season, the earliest they've suffered their 12th loss under Kerr's tenure, and 13-11 in their last 24 games after starting the season with an impressive 10-1 record.

It was also another blowout home loss following similar defeats to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks at the Oracle Arena. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was also the first time Kerr and the Warriors lost five games in a season by 20 points or more.

Kerr, though, is not concerned and believes the reigning champions have just set the bar that high.

"The bar's been set high. I told our guys that; I gave them that line today. You guys have set the bar really high," Kerr said after Wednesday practice, as quoted on ESPN. "So everything takes on a little greater sense of urgency in terms of what happens around the team. We're maybe the most scrutinized team in the history of the league. We're right there with the Bulls teams that I played on. I felt the same, but even more so now because of the number of media outlets and the immediacy of the judgement and criticism."

"So it's all part of it; our guys have learned how to deal with all of that over the past few years. It doesn't matter. What matters is how you respond to a bad loss, to a bad stretch, to injuries. As long as you keep responding, keep showing up to work, keep sticking together, keep working, good things are going to happen. That's what I believe with this group."

Kerr admits this season has been tougher than previous ones especially with injuries to Stephen Curry and drama surrounding the team with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. However, he believes in the "journey" and expects his side to get through it and only get better.

"We're a championship team," Kerr explained. "We've got a lot of guys who have been through everything in this league to rely on that experience. We rely on that as a staff with our leadership amongst the team, but we keep pressing forward. We keep trying to get better. There's a reason we have practice every day, there's a reason you guys show up every day and write about our team."

"It's a journey, it's a long journey. As I said, it's a more arduous one this year than it's been in the past just because of the circumstances. So it's all part of it, we're going to get through it, we're going to get better. We'll see what happens."

The Warriors will look to get back to winning ways when they host the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday.