Golden State Warriors guard Gui Santos reflected on the team’s effort following Friday’s 131-124 loss to the Detroit Pistons. “I think our intensity on the defense… we were more in the gaps. We slow down, we don’t turn the ball over, and that helps us get back in the game,” he said.
Santos acknowledged noticing Stephen Curry’s knee discomfort during the game. “I noticed that Steph was limping a little bit since the end of the first quarter. I said, ‘Man, you tough. You can’t do that with one leg. You’re nice,’” he said.
On his own performance off the bench, Santos emphasized energy and effort. “For me it’s just the energy. Sometimes I don’t score a lot, sometimes I don’t get many rebounds, but I was there in all the rebounds just trying to help. Draymond was fighting with everybody, and I was just trying to help him,” he explained.
Santos described the mindset needed to play against Detroit’s size and athleticism. “They want to take us off position. So sometimes we were running plays way higher than usual. Against teams like that, we just have to play really hard, more in transition, trying to play before the defense is set,” he said.
He addressed the fatigue of a condensed schedule. “The last games, we’ve been playing day off, day off… I’m tired, trying to play the hardest I can. One day in between helps us recover, and that makes me respect Steph and Draymond even more because it’s hard to do this for so long,” Santos said.
The young guard also spoke on the trade deadline’s impact. “We don’t really think about that in the locker room. We go day by day, focus on the next game. My mindset doesn’t change. I play hard and keep being a good teammate,” he said.
Santos described the team’s response after Curry exited. “When you have a guy like Stephen, sometimes he just catches the ball and hits a three. You don’t have that superpower, so we have to step up. Melton stepped up, Draymond fought on defense, everybody tried to cover the miss. If we were playing 100%, now we had to play 120%,” he said.
Santos finished with perspective on his contributions. “I always bring the energy, effort, hustle. That puts me in a good position to help the team better,” he said.
Detroit was led by Cade Cunningham with 29 points and 11 assists, while Jalen Duren added 21 points and 13 rebounds. Golden State’s Curry scored 23 points before leaving with right knee soreness, and Draymond Green posted 15 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and his 10th technical. Santos had 16 points in 25 minutes of play.
The Warriors host the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, while the Pistons, now 35-12, will face Brooklyn on Sunday.
