Just after the Golden State Warriors got blown out by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 144-110 loss, head coach Steve Kerr explained why Stephen Curry hadn’t played more, while many believe the setback may be linked to the American point guard’s reduced playing time.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the critics who thought Steph Curry should’ve been on the court more than he was, saying, “We tried to play him about 30 minutes, trying to give him as much rest as possible. We played him a lot of minutes, 35 two days ago. As long as we could hold out, we wanted to limit the minutes a little. Not limit them, but not overload him. We can’t expect Steph to play game after game.

The last few weeks have been very difficult for him. We’ve made him carry the burden of this franchise for 15 years. We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes. We have five games in seven days on this trip. If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 makes the difference between a win and a loss, I completely disagree. We’re trying to win the game. And we’re also trying to keep him fit.”