The Warriors’ 119-115 loss to the Denver Nuggets was frustrating for Golden State to say the least.

In addition to expressing anger over a possible missed call at the end of the game, coach Steve Kerr publicly questioned Golden State guard Brandin Podziemski’s decision-making in Wednesday’s loss.

“Podz is a hell of a player, but he has to be – and I told him this – a smart player,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “He’s one of our guys who is capable of making really good decisions. He had a lob when we were ahead (10) late in the second quarter, which was honestly crazy.”

Kerr didn’t mean that in a good way, considering the turnover led to an easy basket on the other end for Denver. He also pointed to a similar mistake in the past, as well as Podziemski fouling Denver forward Michael Porter Jr. twice on 3-point attempts.

“He had the same play last week against Brooklyn when he tried to throw a lob over his shoulder. He can’t be that guy,” Kerr continued. “And he can’t hinder jump shooters. I love Brandin. He’s a great player. He’s got a hell of a future ahead of him.”

“But I hope he watches this clip of me talking now because he needs to hear it. He has to be a smart, tough, great decision maker, and he’s very capable of that. But that’s his next step.”

That postgame press conference wasn’t the only time Kerr expressed his obvious frustration with Podziemski on Wednesday. After fouling Porter for the first time, Kerr had an animated conversation with the second-year NBA guard from the sidelines.

“He was more about getting me to do my job and know what to do out there. He said, ‘If you can’t do your job, I’m going to pull you out.’ ‘” Podziemski told reporters after the game. “He just attacked me a little bit, which I’m all for. I’m trying to get better.”

“He knows he can take me on and I won’t react emotionally. I’m just going to go out there and mature.”

Podziemski also responded to Kerr’s post-game tantrum in his own press release.

“I mean, I agree. I played badly,” said Podziemski. “I think there was a point defensively where I was just pushing too hard and trying too hard. I think one of the turnovers I had when I threw the ball to Trayce, I could have passed it to him earlier.”

Although he was disappointed with his two turnovers, Podziemski said he felt good about his overall offensive game on Wednesday. After all, he had respectable stats of 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and four assists.

However, Podziemski seemed more unhappy with his defensive issues after committing five fouls and posting a minus-13 plus-minus, second-worst on the Warriors.

“I think defensively I tried too hard to stick with Michael Porter and fouling him twice was definitely not my thing and definitely something I’m not proud of,” Podziemski explained. “I know they made their runs because I fouled or turned the ball over. So I know I have to get better. I know I will be better. It just sucks that we didn’t win.”

After this open challenge from Kerr, it will be interesting to watch Podziemski’s rotations – and perhaps whether he returns to the bench – when the Warriors return to action on Thursday and Friday later this week.

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