Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr

SAN FRANCISCO – When the Golden State Warriors take part in a Christmas Day showdown with Phoenix Suns on Saturday, they do it a little frustrated. This is going to be their second year in a row as they are on the road during the biggest show day of the NBA regular season.

“I usually like playing at Christmas,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Thursday night’s 113-104 win over Memphis Grizzlies. “It’s exciting. I love to play at home for Christmas. That way you can still spend a good family day on Christmas morning with the kids and then go to the arena later. It’s hard to be on Christmas trip, but it’s part of being at home. In the NBA.

“It’s an honor to play at Christmas – it’s a showcase and everyone is watching – but I think there should be a rule in the NBA that you can’t be on the road for two years in a row. That’s just made clear. it seems right. “

Kerr then added with a laugh, “But I’m sure we’ll be home for Christmas next year. Or we’ll all protest and we won’t show up.”

Warriors striker Draymond Green reiterated Kerr’s suggestion that teams should not have to play Christmas road games in consecutive years, saying players will find it difficult to be away from their families on vacation. As one of the league’s tent teams, the Warriors play for Christmas for the ninth consecutive season.

While players and coaches appreciate the honor, they do so in the hope that the league will change how many years in a row a team can be on the road.

“I think it’s legal,” Green said after the game. “I’m 7 years old, 5 years old and 1 year old. I also want to spend time at home with my kids. We’re not playing against a defensive champion. If we understand that we’re playing against a defensive championship, but we’re not. And it’s a little frustrating that I have to go on the road for the second year in a row.So now my daughter misses the first Christmas and I miss her second.It’s kind of confused.But it’s a reality.We’ll face it.

“You have to go do your job, but we’re human too. So like I said, I miss him first and I miss his second. I can’t explain it to him. So it’s fucked. We’re not robots, not machines. We’re real people with real feelings. , real families. “

Warriors star guard Stephen Curry also said he was in favor of the league introducing a new rule that would allow teams to stay home for Christmas at least every two years.

“I like it because it means you’re one of the tent teams,” Curry said of playing at Christmas. “There are 10 teams playing, so you know [the NBA] is very selective about who they put in these starting and … But it’s weird – especially on the road, I have three kids and how special the day and weekend it is, so you try to balance being with them and working and playing and concentration. there.

“I think we’ve been playing for nine years in a row at Christmas. That means you’re doing something good, so you have to bring in the good and the bad.”

Despite the difference, Green expects his team to raise their level of play, given the spotlight and platform provided by the Christmas stage.

“I think the intensity in Christmas Day games is always higher because it’s a big game,” Green said. “As you know, everyone at home is watching. Everyone is at home, number one. Nothing is open on Christmas Day. Everyone is sitting at home with their family watching TV, so you know it’s one of the biggest regular season games of the year. “You have to get up and meet that challenge, and it’s going to be a tough challenge to go against the good Phoenix team to their building to make a profit. But that’s the task before us, and I expect us to do it.”