The Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green-less Golden State Warriors dropped their Wednesday night matchup against the Sacramento Kings by a score of 121-116.
Golden State's next generation of talents such as rookie guard Will Richard (30 points, seven rebounds), Moses Moody (28 points, four blocks) and Jonathan Kuminga (24 points, nine rebounds) shined with their stars sidelined, and their 39-year-old center Al Horford was expected to act as their main source of veteran wisdom throughout the night.
Unfortunately, Horford would continue his horrid beginning to the 2025-26 season on the offensive end, as he would miss each of his seven attempts from three-point range and finish 0-for-8 from the field in 26 minutes of play, registering a -3 in the plus-minus department.
Following the contest, the Warriors' legendary head coach spoke on Horford's struggles and took a glass-half-full approach to the 5-time All-Star's performance against Sacramento.
"I thought Al played a great basketball game tonight," Kerr told ESPN's Anthony Slater post-game.
"The ball didn’t go in. He took all the right shots. They all looked good."
"They’re going to go in. He’s Al Horford."
After his decision to leave the Boston Celtics to join the Warriors as a free agent this past summer, Golden State believed that the 20-year veteran would become an impactful cog in their dynastic machine alongside Curry and Green on both ends of the floor.
Through his first six appearances as a Warrior, he has posted averages of 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists while knocking down just 20.8% of his 4.0 three-point attempts.
Despite his shooting struggles to begin the new year, Kerr realizes that Horford's track record speaks for itself with regard to his three-point efficiency.
The 6-foot-9 floor-spacing big man boasts a career 37.5% shooting clip from distance, and his excellent range was a massive part of the Celtics' 2024 NBA title run, when he secured the first championship victory of his career.
More NBA: Donovan Mitchell defends maligned Cavaliers teammate after victory over 76ers