“Steve Kerr is the best relationship manager in the league,” an insider recently told me. I agree. I’m starting to think that he has more belief in the 2023-24 Golden State Warriors than Oracle Arena itself in the #WeBelieve 2007 Baron Davis-led No. 8 playoff team.
Maybe it’s relative. Maybe a guy with so much belief in his squad in comparison to the general public stands out more to me than one of 20,677 (the attendance at the Game 6 DAL-GSW clincher on May 3, 2007) already all having belief in their team. Here’s what Kerr said on Saturday after the heartbreaking loss in double-overtime to the LA Lakers, after Stephen Curry ripped his own jersey in frustration while walking off the court:
…we’re going to get this turned. I believe in them. We’ve been through so much this year. But the season’s only halfway over. There’s a long way to go. and we got a lot of good stuff ahead of us.
(Full transcript is below.) Kerr even has belief in Brandin Podziemski’s hook shot, something Steve’s long-time friend Tom Tolbert didn’t even believe in (full transcripts from January 16th and 9th also below, tacked onto the bottom of this article, which I’ve been waiting to post since before Dejan “Deki” Milojevic’s passing):
TOLBERT: I gotta ask you one thing, because I know you love playing Podziemski. I love Podziemski. I love watching him play. He does so many good things that people don’t notice. But I’ve said this on the broadcast, so I can say it to you. Can we get rid of the skyhook, that thing?
KERR: “You’re not a fan of the George Mikan?”
TOLBERT: Oh, I love it. If it went in, it’d be fantastic. I mean, he’s shooting about 15 percent on those things, man. It’s like, I gave him about five of them. And then after that, I was like, ‘All right, let’s put that on the shelf for a little while. Work on that thing.’ And then he shot one last night. I don’t think it drew iron. I was like, we gotta put this one away. I love the sky hook. I love (that) somebody uses it. But I don’t love it as much when it doesn’t result in points.
KERR: “Yeah. I don’t know. I love BP’s approach and just the way he attacks and the way he probes in the lane, I kind of think he’s eventually going to make that shot. He just has so much belief.”
TOLBERT: Great.
KERR: “When? What did you say? When is he gonna make one?”
TOLBERT: No, I said, great. Eventually he’s going to make one. I mean, of course he’s going to make one.
KERR: “No, I don’t — I’m not saying one. I’m saying, eventually he’s going to make that shot consistently. And that’s going to be a part of his game. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I don’t know if you remember this, but, when Klay (Thompson) was really young, he missed a lot of layups and his dad told a funny story, Mychal (Thompson). He said, ‘Yeah, we used to call them Klayups. We were like, geez, Klay, can’t you make a damn layup? Those are Klayups.’ And I do think a lot of young players really struggle, first year or two, finishing, because those guys are so athletic and big in there but with time — and Steph’s another great example. I mean, he didn’t make those shots early on and now you see some of the shots he makes. So I really believe Brandin will eventually make that shot consistently — not make it once, make it consistently.”
Maybe because I’ve been watching this team up-close for more than decade, mostly in a literal sense as I attended nearly every practice, morning shootaround, pregame, game and postgame for eight years, the last three of which included road trips, but I really do appreciate Steve’s candor and nurturing style. This is a very steep learning curve for open-minded outside observers, let alone distant and outraged fans who unknowingly want to remain separate from the team.
But — and I’ve also said this before — his superb relationship management skills are “sometimes to a fault,” as my insider told me. We, as in readers of this website, will continue to explore this further as I try to teach y’all my lens of this franchise. Again, there is a better way to be a fan and I’m here to try my best for you to reach my summit, which is that I really do enjoy the process, win or lose. Like, genuinely, the way Steph says so every time on the podium.
Now, some of you have been the way you are since your brain started recording your environment since ages 2 through about 12, so I don’t hold your inability to stop the addiction to certain judgmental behaviors — which are all really just hormones of survival in an ever-increasing dog-eat-dog society — against you, but I will exit the room or block out as necessary any overly Sith Lord-like negativity. If you don’t want to be saved, you don’t want to be saved. And yes, of course, I know my audience is going to be the 1% of 1%. Not a very good business strategy, but I don’t live my life trying to just make money — I gave up that Matrix life eons ago when I resigned from PricewaterhouseCoopers, and it’s actually an ongoing process as I’m a way different person than my giving-up-PwC days and I’ve learned the most I’ve ever learned in my whole life the last two years.
And I’m with Steve on this one. I also believe what we saw in the waning moments of Q4, OT1 and OT2 against the Lakers was some of the best Steph, Klay and Draymond Green ecosystem we’ve seen in a long time. I wish I had the exact plus-minus or W-L record for when we’ve had those three on the floor at the same time this season, but I have feeling it’s very few and far between minutes. I do think the basketball gods will reward the attention to detail and locked-in desire the boys displayed on Saturday, if they keep doing that.
By the way, we’ll have Lakers Fastbreak podcaster Sean Grice aka “Magicman” on halftime on tomorrow’s PHI-GSW livestream to give us his outside observer takes to what he saw from Steph-Klay-Dray on Saturday.
STEPH & JK POSTGAME LAL-GSW
0:00 Jonathan, just what’s the kind of emotions after such a hard fought back and forth game like this?
JONATHAN KUMINGA POSTGAME LAL-GSW: “We fought till the end and it’s nothing that we didn’t try that was gonna help us win. We fought till the end. You could see a lot of people play a lot of minutes. So we tried pretty much everything and didn’t go our way.”
0:34 The starting lineup was the same as the closing lineup pretty much all through all of the overtimes. What do you like about that group of yourself? Draymond, Andrew, Steph, and Klay, what works there?
“That group been playing really well. And Coach wanted to try and see how it’s going to look like. And I feel like so far it did look good. It’s just a bunch of the guys, and we had two, two people fouled out, almost three, I almost fouled out too, So but I like that group, we’re playing well, we’re playing pretty much well.”
1:16 Specifically adding Draymond back, because before when Draymond was suspended, when you and Andrew shared the court, was there was a little bit of struggle? What does adding Draymond to that just allow you to do and allow Andrew to do?
“I would say, it’s just me and Wiggs, we figured out how to play off each other. And with each other at the same time on the floor, it’s not that much about Draymond being in there or being out. They help us with a lot of things. But it’s just we kind of have a feel for each other now. Like we know how we play. So we just figured it out.”
2:00 With Draymond back, have you noticed anything different about what he’s brought to you guys since his return? Is his approach different as the way he’s acting, or is this just the same Draymond you’ve always seen?
“It’s always the same Draymond I’ve always seen, and just his absence, we’re missing that Draymond force, and I feel like him being back, he’s bringing that every night, night in, night out. It’s still the same Draymond.”
2:27 Steph, you’re walking off the court, ripping your jersey. Just what are the emotions after a game like this that ends the way it does, but also goes through all the overtimes, all of the incredible shot making?
STEPHEN CURRY: “Our whole season we’ve had some tough breaks, some self-inflicted wounds. Some games that obviously you should have should have won and there’s disappointment walking on the floor and like tonight is a night where you feel like you played well enough to win almost like the Sac game and again, have nothing to show for it. We fought the whole way. stayed in it even when things weren’t going our way, gave ourselves an opportunity, goes on the last possession three or four times regular regulation, both overtimes and it just shows that we really want it. We’re playing with a little bit of desperation trying to change the tide of our season and just don’t have nothing to show for right now.”
3:46 Steph, you said the other night after the loss, that you view that loss differently in terms of closing than some of your prior losses. How did you look at tonight with the two overtimes, but the inability to still close it out?
“It’s the same vibe doesn’t make it any better. Actually makes it worse. Like I said, played well enough, had a tough stretch in the middle of the fourth quarter. And you could see we were flying around, playing aggressive, understanding every possession was important and makes and misses or whatever. Like, there’s just an energy about what we were trying to do. So the good news is if we can keep doing it, you would like to think that you could build momentum and that’s what our hope is. But it’s just a tough way to, back to back games at home that you play well enough to win and just don’t get it done.”
4:52 Bigger scope. Do you feel like you might have found something with Draymond primarily at the five and then that new starting and closing lineup you guys are using?
“He’s had plenty of experience there. He provides such a big presence. That lineup, we got some speed, we have some athleticism, we have Draymond’s brain and mind, and just the way that he sees the floor defensively. We had a pretty good start to the game tonight, so It’s one of those situations where you have a lot of confidence with that group, but it is a different lineup again that we’re trying to build an identity around. And there’s a lot of good to see out there with that group. So I’m sure we’re probably gonna roll it back.”
5:48 Steph, just curious, bigger question about the league, had a lot of 70-point games lately. it used to be something very few and far between. We saw a lot of great offensive skill in this game. What is your opinion on that? Why do you think we’re getting more of these games than ever? Is it the offensive skill at the league being higher than ever or other things? How do you see it?
“It’s probably a combination of a lot. There’s guys that know how to put the ball in the basket, with Luka, Joel, KAT, Book. They’re perennial scorers. That’s what they do. The level of it and how, in the short time span, how many games like we’ve had like that. Guys get hot, build confidence, floodgates open. And that’s when the momentum kind of like they’re obviously capable of doing that. It’s interesting, though, like how the game is refereed and things like that. You’ve seen a little bit tonight. It’s hard to be as physical as you want with some of the patterns of how things are called. And guys are taking advantage of it in (that) if you can obviously score at all three levels and get to the foul line, you’ll have a night. So it’s great for the league in the sense of showcasing skill sets and the variety of how guys score. But there’s some stuff to correct as well.”
7:32 Steve made sure to point out the free throw discrepancy, 43 to 16. And also that you only got three free throws in 43 minutes. How much do you feel like that tilted the game and what played into all that?
“We’ve had this conversation, especially playing against them. They draw a lot of fouls that last year they had some crazy free throw disparity, and advantage. Tonight is just one of those where it’s just not consistent, and that’s the most frustrating part. because you want to be in a place where the players decide the game, and it’s either the players decide the game, or it’s consistent on both ends of what you’re calling. And so like, not to say, obviously, we shoot a lot of threes. I know that there’s a different style, but there’s probably like three plays I was involved in where It’s just a clear bad call in this in the sense of giving guys unnecessary free throw attempts and then on the other end, contact or plays that just, they look the other way for whatever reason. So like in a single game when you have inconsistency on both sides, that’s the most frustrating thing of all. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to go to the line 58 times. It just means that there’s a tone of the game and there’s a flow that we can adapt to and adjust to. And it wasn’t like that tonight. So it’s tough.”
9:12 Steph, LeBron said he hopes he’ll be cool with his grandkids someday, the fact that he got to battle with you in so many games over the years. He plans to talk to his grandkids about all these thrilling games with you and hopes it makes him cool. Do you sense that, that these games will be something that you guys look back on years from now?
“Absolutely. Every year that we get to do this, and the back and forth, the battles from all the finals runs to the playoffs last year, after the horn sounded tonight, like, there was a little laugh of, can’t imagine a scenario where a game like tonight happens his year, what, 21? My year 15, all the other guys in the league that have been doing it for 15 plus years, KD, CP, like, it’s insane. So you look forward to the battles, but you also appreciate the mutual respect of what it takes to keep doing what you’re doing at this level because only a few people know how hard it is. I’m happy being in that group.”
10:35 Steph, what have you seen from Wiggins over these last few games and how much of a difference has it made?
“We just love aggressive Wiggs that, obviously, making his presence felt on the defensive end, taking what is there on the offensive end. There’s probably a little bit more opportunity to feature him on offense, especially with some mismatches and stuff. And when he has that aggressive nature to his game, it only helps us even more. So he’s been through obviously a lot this year. Understanding when he plays well, we’re a much better team, and we obviously need that when he’s out there.”
11:21 You guys have mentioned how many heartbreakers you’ve lost this year, but Steve came and said how optimistic he was after this one. Do you feel more positive threads to pull after something like this, despite how heartbreaking it was?
“It’s just you just stay in the moment like you feel the pain of it. And embrace it. But you need to find something again. It’s all like winning is contagious and these last two games, if they go the other way there’s just a different vibe in our locker room, even if it’s a one-point win and you’re still like, ‘Oh, we can play better. We can do this,’ isn’t there, so Y=yeah. The challenge is to not let the pain of it last until when we come back to practice, and get ready for Tuesday, we have to come with this, the same desperation and energy and competitiveness, try to have a short memory. But losing sucks. It’s the worst feeling in the world. And until you get over the hump, you kind of have to just sit in it. And that’s where we’re at.”
12:35 Steph, you seem to have good success taking Davis off the dribble, but I was curious if you were determined to take a three in the second overtime. Was that going to be the three pointer you made? Were you going to take that regardless to end it or not?
“Was that In the second overtime? Yeah. No, that was a read just because it was a catch and shoot. Draymond set a good screen. I turned around and saw Vanderbilt’s on the ground. That’s a shot I got to take. It wasn’t one where you’re dribbling around, a little bit of chaos and trying to force one up. So honestly, whether it was tied up, down one, up one, or tied down one, down two, didn’t matter. That was a shot I was going to take based on the way the play unfolded.”
STEVE & KLAY POSTGAME LAL-GSW
0:00 Coach, you mentioned this last game. The games are close towards the end, and you guys are having a hard time closing. What does this team need to do to be able to close games out on the other side than a loss?
STEVE KERR POSTGAME LAL-GSW: “Well, they did everything. Our guys did everything to close that game. They executed beautifully on offense, and they were scrapping and clawing defensively. And give the Lakers credit, give LeBron credit. He made the move at the end and to draw the foul and shot their 42nd and 43rd free throws of the game and knocked them down. So give them credit.”
0:41 You just made sure to note their free throw attempts. They obviously are the more physical team, but did you feel like that’s what tilted the game?
“I might comment on the free throws that they shot, but my mom is here right now and I want to be on my best behavior. So I’m not going to comment on the 43 free throws to our 16. I’m not gonna comment on Steph shooting three free throws in 43 minutes. Yeah, so I’m not gonna comment on that.”
1:22 You mentioned it earlier. But despite the loss, what do you take away from how your team executed or performed?
“Just taking it all the way to double-overtime. Fantastic. Our guys were amazing. They were amazing. The way they battled. The way they competed and stayed in the game. And made so many plays. Just felt like we deserved to win that game, the way the guys fought. And there were just so many plays that could have gone either way, that just felt like a game that we deserved to win. But as long as we keep playing the way we played tonight, then we’re going to turn this around and have a great season. I really believe that. I love our guys. They’re amazing and they’ve been through so much this year. And I know who they are. I know how connected they are. I know how much they care about each other and about the game. And we’re gonna turn it around. Tonight was, we didn’t get the result, but our guys showed, you know who they are tonight.”
2:30 Same starting lineup that closed the game last game. What jumped out about the way that group played today?
“Well, it gives us a little more size and athleticism across the board. And we’re trying to maximize the number of possessions that those guys play together. And we’re in a position now with Wiggs playing at a high level and JK having come around and Klay, Steph, Draymond back after the suspension, we’re in a position where we can put those guys on the floor together and it’s probably our best five. So we want to maximize the number of possessions they have together.”
3:15 Trayce was initially a DNP and then you brought him out later in the fourth, I believe it was. What went into your decision to do that? Also do you expect he’ll be in the rotation going forward?
“We just wanted to get his finishing at the rim, the way the Lakers were guarding us. We felt like Trayce was a good option in that spot and he played well and came in and got a couple of buckets and yeah, he’s played well for us all year and he’ll continue to get minutes.”
3:54 You mentioned Draymond before, just before he was a plus-31. What does having him back just allow? Because before, we talked about it last game, Kuminga and Wiggs previously not having played very well together, Draymond comes back and everything’s just clicking. What does Draymond specifically unlock for these actions?
“Well, Draymond’s one of the great defenders of all time. When he’s with a group, he automatically connects the group defensively, and he covers up for mistakes, but he’s also behind the play talking and communicating. And then on offense, he’s another playmaker for us, so, Draymond, he’s a Hall of Fame player for a reason, and he was brilliant tonight.”
4:34 You almost primarily went with him at center, and obviously started him, closed him at center. I know you have plenty of options at the five, but do you feel like that can become the identity of this team?
“Yeah, yeah. The bulk of the minutes of him just at center. Yeah. It’s just the way the game is played, the scoring that’s happening around the league. It’s so hard to defend. You have so much space to cover, so many shooters. So Draymond at the five with JK and Wiggs, it allows us to cover more ground defensively.”
5:07 Coach, there was obviously a lot of frustration after this game, a game like this where the emotions are high. Steph ripped his jersey after the game. What do you do at this stage of the season, what do you tell your team after a loss like this when you guys have had a season of similar type losses down the stretch?
“Exactly what I just told you guys, that we’re going to get this turned. I believe in them. We’ve been through so much this year. But the season’s only halfway over. There’s a long way to go. and we got a lot of good stuff ahead of us.”
5:43 What do you think ultimately kind of decided this one?
KLAY THOMPSON: “I would probably say, I mean, it’s a tough question. There are a lot of factors. We played, we just got to limit our fouling, I guess, 43 to 16 free throw discrepancy is not ideal if you want to win. So, just gotta limit our fouling and play well offensively. We had great looks to win the game. I had a few. It just didn’t go down.”
6:34 You guys went with a different starting lineup tonight with, Kuminga and Wiggins and Draymond at center. What do you like about how that worked out?
“Just a lot of versatility amongst that group. defensively, offensively. and great athletes, shooters. Draymond was incredible tonight at plus-31 shows his impact. And yeah, just a lot of versatility with that unit.”
7:00 Steve sounded actually pretty optimistic about where you guys are at with Draymond being back and playing the way he is. Do you, obviously this game is going to sting, but are you feeling pretty good about where this is trending?
“A lot of games have stung this year. We’ve had a lot of heartbreaking losses. But yeah, I’m going to continue to be optimistic along with Steve. And it’s a long season, so we know that we can be even better. No need to get discouraged, with plenty of basketball left.”
7:42 You mentioned it there though, you guys do have kind of an abnormal amount of games that have come down to this, one-point losses, even two this week. How does that start to wear on you, when you have that many of those type of losses?
“Not really, because we know how talented we are as a group, and what we’re capable of, so although it sucks to lose, anytime, at a high level, we can learn from it, and like I said before, there’s plenty of basketball ahead to right the ship. And yeah, we got time, but there needs to be a sense of urgency, obviously. But we’re not going to get discouraged.”
Klay, does any part of you appreciate this in a way differently than when you were younger, because you don’t know how many more times you and Steph and Dray are gonna battle LeBron. with LeBron getting up there in age and you and Steph into your mid thirties now.
“Jeez, I’m still 33. That’s young. Whoa. But yeah. But oh, yeah. It’s been since 2015. Nine years. That’s incredible. Credit to LeBron for what he’s doing at his age. As a freak of nature, as far as his ability to just play at this level for so long. Same with Steph. And yeah, when you’re younger, you don’t really ever think that basketball will stop because it’s what you love, it’s all you do. But when you do get in your thirties, you realize, there’s an end point to being an athlete. And knowing that, I am very grateful to step on the floor with those guys and play against LeBron.”
GAME NOTES FROM LAL-GSW
2:00 Kerr pregame
16:00 Kuminga interview with Chris Haynes (as we wait for tipoff)
21:30 refs: John Goble, Mitchell Ervin, Derek Richardson
21:50 AD wins tip vs JK
11m32 Q1 Klay good screen, Dray fake DHO layup Red Sea
10m50 Q1 JK to Dray not looking
10m34 Q1 JK good oreb fouled by AD — Pau in the house, wonder why
9m19 Q1 Steph Dray P&R, lefty lay
8m45 Q1 Klay fade FT vs DLo nice bounce
8m02 Q1 Steph bad tov
6m48 Q1 JK slam putback miss after Steph miss 3 P&R (7/14 fg)
30:45 on the non-kicked ball call: Problem: we’ve seen that now. They may have adjusted the rule that if you pass to a guy’s foot, not a kicked ball
6m10 Q1 great D Wiggs no-call (D
5m45 Q1 Dray passes up an open corner 3 via Wiggs, Steph falls asleep, fouled, but says my bad — HUGE WARRIORS CULTURE PLAY
5m35 Q1 Steph fly by AR, assist Dario
5m10 Q1 DPOY steal vs Vando
4m15 Q1 Wiggs almost twists ankle, Dray to Steph
3m38 Q1 Steph easy 3 via Dray pick on Christie
2m19 Q1 BP takes a charge on AR (now has 19, tied for 3rd in the NBA with Mo Wagner)
1m58 Q1 Dario bad pass
0m53 Q1 Loon bad tov
0m30 Q1 BP cross-step and-1, Dray quickly subs in (wonder if that’s the adjustment to the struggles of this lineup with Dario/Loon)
0m05 Q1 Loon misses at buzzer from other side of logo — 0-for-1 on the season! (4/17 in 2021)
48:30 The experimental phases (this one: Loon/Saric) takes longer than fans would like. Just put a little trust in the coaching staff, patience.
50:15 fyi, Loon-Saric plus-minus was zero (subbed in at 3m16) — I understand the eye test is hard
11m34 Q2 BP good D vs DLo
11m13 Q2 BP layup curl vs DLo
10m05 Q2 BP tap out, JK misses tough base J fade
9m50 Q2 bad in trans D, Klay doesn’t see the ball!! — every game, 2 brain farts by Klay
9m00 Q2 Klay top 3 bad shot but late
8m35 Q2 Dario blows a layup after the slip
8m24 Q2 good D Klay vs bigger Rui
8m07 Q2 starters back in
7m50 Q2 JK misses another layup
7m28 Q2 Steph GOAT 3 upfake
7m17 Q2 Wiggs doesn’t help the Wood roll early enough (Klay picked)
7m00 Q2 Steph 3 miss (4/7 on pace for like 20 threes)
6m48 Q2 SLOB by Curry got JK downhill (fouled by Wood)
6m14 Q2 Steph risky sling pass to Wiggs corner 3
5m40 Q2 Wiggs wow Euro vs LB
5m30 Q2 Wiggs left push on Wood fade (10th foul)
4m45 Q2 Wiggs JK good D, Dray box out
4m39 Q2 BP bad tov
4m22 Q2 Dray steal, BP ast to JK human highlight film Dominique Wilkins dunk
1:11:00 @Fernando Garcia because there’s only so many mins to go around with Dray back STARTING AT THE FIVE
4m05 Q2 Steph bad tov again
3m30 Q2 JK bad tov
3m19Q2 Wiggs and1
3m00 Q2 good D vs DLo Steph
2m40 Q2 Wiggs good vs AR flop
2m15 Q2 Wiggs good pressure DLo shotclock, Dray blocks AR, JK downhill kick out Klay
1m50 Q2 mystery call on Loon (kick?) didn’t challenge in time (should’ve)
1m22 Q2 Steph GOAT scoop
1m00 Q2 JK step back 2 vs LBJ
0m55 Q2 LBJ falls down, foul on JK, challenge — antics? “there’s no falling down in basketball” (L2M report always say “incidental”) — former says JK tripped him WHAT A CLOWN TAKE
0m17 Q2 Wiggs dribbles off foot, Klay desperation 3 but doesn’t sell a landing spot call — Robby Bautista: i think the 2 injury of klay really change the way he jumps while taking shots.i hope klay can use his perimeter arsenal specially if he got advantage against his defender i mis klay perimeter, Adam Silver got contract extension today (reminder by Reggie)
11m40 Q3 LBJ foul on JK not called
11m21 Q3 JK corner 3 on hot potato
11m05 Q3 AD bad screen not called
10m50 Q3 Klay early 3 with 17 on shot
9m48 Q3 Wiggs sells call vs DLo
9m21 Q3 Wiggs 3 after Prince sells out on JK post
9m11 Q3 Dray block LBJ, 94ft dunk JK via Steph
1:46:30 for JK to crack this starting lineup is pretty incredible
8m50 Q3 good help Wiggs on Dray vs AD
8m37 Q3 Steph scissors past D, Dray good screen
7m50 Q3 flat-footed C&S by Klay 3
7m14 Q3 Wiggs 3 on the catch (22 pts, 8/10 fg, 3/4 threes)
7m00 Q3 Klay 3 extra dribble, Wiggs found him, then Klay seems to have sat on a thumbtack
1:53:45 who said that Draymond starting would be the real team or litmus test (I call out Dean Chambers who had said he counted last game as a Draymond game)
1:54:30 good flop call on Taurean
6m35 Q3 replay shows Klay vs LBJ foul sell job that’s what you have to do
6m18 Q3 Klay stops in the middle of a cut — if we ever play a game with zero brain farts, we’ll beat good teams by 15
5m37 Q3 BP loses DLo open 3 miss (Dray not happy)
4m51 Q3 LBJ to Vando and1, the moment Dray leaves sigh (plus 26)
4m20 Q3 Wiggs swats LBJ
3m00 Q3 CoJo clutch 3 corner catch
2m42 Q3 Klay steal but Dray throws it away
1m46 Q3 BP bad foul in penalty vs AR
1m30 Q3 Klay 3 BP redeemed tap out (GSW 17/35, LAL 4/16 on threes)
0m54 Q3 Klay 30ft three in rhythm with Dray
0m05 Q3 floater buzzer by BP
12m00 Q4 TJD starts (per my suggestion although AD is out with the circumcision)
9m10 Q4 TJD bad def3sec
9m00 Q4 good D CoJo vs DLo
8m42 Q4 lead pass by Klay to TJD and1
7m38 Q4 Dray to Klay directed traffic
2:27:15 analyzing the last play (Klay still has gravity!), sold the flare, good pick by TJD
7m09 Q4 Steph loses the ball again, but lucky Vando double dribbled
6m43 Q4 TJD good D vs AD
6m36 Q4 Steph picked, but blame Kerr right? Should’ve called timeout! Should’ve played CoJo more! (jokes)
6m14 Q4 AD and1 vs TJD, Dray pops off bench
5m53 Q4 JK putback dunk on Steph runner
4m43 Q4 Wiggs steal
4m23 Q4 good job not fouling AD by Dray Wiggs JK
4m00 Q4 Wiggs Dray Steph 3 GSWBB
3m24 Q4 Dray great screen late shot breakdown but Klay brick
3m14 Q4 Steph ghost foul on DLo who sold it — again, we don’t do a good job of selling calls
3m13 Q4 ghost lane violation
2m49 Q4 JK good POA vs LBJ, AD travels
1m55 Q4 Steph misses another clutch shot
1m27 Q4 challenge of Wiggs foul (AD got forearm), we do a poll to see if we have any trust in refs — Goble is still on the headset is not good news, for it to take this long is awful
2:48:15 booth: Brent Barnaky, Ray Acosta, Brandon Adair, Brandon Schwab
2:49:15 it’s the stragety of reverse Donaghy (60% poll result no confidence in refs)
1m10 Q4 Steph try charge on LBJ, tov, steal Wiggs
1m00 Q4 Wiggs oreb putback should’ve come down with it missed
0m33 Q4 Steph ghost foul — Adam Silver with the incompetent refs for billions in network money
2:53:30 Samantha: They get 20 more FTs and all the 50/50 calls!!
0m25 Q4 inadvertent whistle wow
0m14.7 Q4 Doris really thought that was a flagrant lol — BBALL GODS PLEASE COME THRU
0m07 Q4 Steph GOAT fake
0m02 Q4 Steph forced ref to make the clown call
3m43 OT Dray close out block of AD 3 — entire starters have 4 fouls each (JK 5)
2m45 OT JK can’t secure dreb
2m30 OT JK gets downhill on AR, goaltend, way to not defer
3:09:45 analyzing the non-call Vando on Steph, Adam didn’t want Donaghy but he settles for this keystone cops incompetence
1m11 OT Steph causes travel on LBJ
0m59 OT Dray to Steph corner 3 chaos
0m11 OT Klay clutch 3, incredible ATO call — that’s why you get the ball to Steph/Klay, the epitome of Warriors Basketball
4m15 OT2 Klay on bench, 45 mins played (BP)
1m58 OT2 Klay curl 3 via Steph pick wanted it
1m27 OT2 BFA 3 over AD
1m00 OT2 BP 3 no good but confident after Wiggs steal and Dray push
0m14 OT2 Wiggs fouls intentionally per Kerr, only 5 sec diff — rather be down 3 with 13 sec than down 1 with 5 sec
0m07 OT2 Steph looks down barrel of a gun 3 (Dray pick, Vando tried to sell it, credit Vando) — it takes Adam’s refs two overtimes to grow a brain — Wiggs and Klay have fouled out earlier, CoJo in there
0m04 OT2 AR gets the JR Smith evil eye from LBJ after not passing him the ball, called a timeout, safer to do that
0m02 OT2 JK doesn’t help on LBJ, that’s the IQ there
3:40:30 at 19-24, last year’s standings had OKC at 10th at 40-42
3:44:00 Next seven games: PHI, at MEM, at ATL (b2b), at BKN, at PHI, at IND (b2b), PHX
3:48:15 Havok: Don’t dwell on the results, enjoy the journey. If the dubs continue playing like this for the rest of the season, every team should fear us in the post season
3:50:15 it’s almost like we’re tanking lol, but actually it’s good that we’re clicking and just have the mental fortitude to stick with it, I think it’ll happen
3:52:00 43 free throws to 16
3:54:00 this loss today was more Warriors Basketball than the ATL win
3:55:00 judging by this game, wouldn’t you feel a lot better going into a series against the Lakers now than last year?
3:57:30 Steph ripped off his jersey in frustration:
4:14:00 if BP made the 3 we probably win, would’ve gone up 144-139 with 1m00 to go in OT2
4:19:00 in the pregame Kerr talked about how refs interpreting the rules have caused scoring to go way up, plus the current pace, but you can’t play defense anymore and so he blames the interpretation
4:21:15 @IHaveNoEnemies (BloomerVibes) On IG I saw a viral thing — I saved it to our positivity highlights — where somebody said that someone at work had passed and had never used their PTO (now never will)
4:27:00 Lacob doesn’t look mad in NBCSBA footage of him walking to tunnel
4:28:00 that clutch 3 he made tonight via Dray (Nicole says Steph has most in a single season in NBA history) — that was a basketball gods should’ve made us win game, it’s like they’re testing us, can we trust the process for even more games?
4:32:30 I do think JK’s IQ is pretty C+ or B minus as it relates to not helping on LBJ off Taurean Prince (39% 3PP)
4:35:30 Mentality: i think they should have had jk go to the hole a bit more towards end, felt like they went away from that — talking to BP’s trainer, yes, it’s hard to suddenly just always look for Steph at the end and they’re having those discussions. Imo, Steph needs to decide. I know there’s a lot on his plate, but the only way to steer the gigantic cargo ship in the Bay at sharper angles is that Steph needs to tell Steve (when I wrote if Steph should tell Kerr to implement pet plays), imo Steve is going to ride it until the wheels fall of proverbially. Steve’s job is to squeeze every little bit of juice out of Steph and Klay and Dray, so someone else might need to do the tap on the shoulder. I do think against weaker teams, we’ll see this happen as we did with ATL
4:39:15 @IHaveNoEnemies (BloomerVibes) on playing better or make a trade on Feb 8 — But there’s really no big move to be made unless you’re trading Wiggs or JK (and Wiggs played great wing D tonight)
4:40:15 one more thought on JK’s IQ: if BP’s brain was in JK’s body, we probably would’ve gotten a game-saving swat of LBJ from behind
4:42:00 is CP3 untradeable? Dunleavy could surprise us
4:42:45 on us not making a move: we kinda get Mo CP GP2 for nothing soon
4:49:30 34 fouls to 21 fouls, that’s too much and then the 17 tov, we always go in spurts in terms of the turnovers
4:51:30 JK POSTGAME AUDIO
4:55:30 Dray not happy with Vando wanting review for FF1 vs AD https://x.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1751487456581742853?s=20
4:58:15 Klay postgame video from KNBR
5:00:30 KLAY POSTGAME AUDIO
5:09:00 on if a retweet threw BP under the bus?
5:11:00 STEPH POSTGAME AUDIO
5:15:00 DVDV helps me figure out that the tweet did not throw BP under the bus
5:18:00 Mentality: we’re lucky Dray didn’t get suspended again — it’s like when you admit you have an issue and you succumb to the powers that be, then the refs are like okay, you succumbed so we’ll be more lenient (Dray has been suspended nearly 20 games this season)
STEVE PREGAME LAL-GSW
KERR pregame: Draymond “ready but…a matter of if his coach will grant him that privilege”; LeBron
STEVE ON KNBR WITH TOM TOLBERT
0:00 TOM TOLBERT (AND ADAM COPELAND), KNBR ON TUE 1/16: Alright, time for our weekly conversation with the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Douglas Kerr. Hello, Steve. What’s up, dude? How you doing? You enjoying lovely — heard Utah’s lovely this time of year. Actually, it is beautiful. Snow in the mountains, snow, a little chilly for my toes, chilly.
STEVE KERR: “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been outside yet, but it looks lovely. The life of an NBA player, bus, hotel, bus, hotel, strip club, bus, hotel.”
0:37 Well, I missed that there was a skip in the, in the sound. I didn’t hear that middle one. Don’t worry about it. You’ll be skipping it in Utah anyway. So anyway, so, I mean, let me just ask you this, because we’ve talked about this before and I know you think there is more in this team, like they’re capable of more. We’ve also said your record is what your record is. The old Bill Parcell line. I mean, you are who your record is. Are you guys I mean, you’re four games under .500. Are you what your record suggests you are?
“Unfortunately, I have to agree with the Parcells comment … that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that we can turn it around. It’s just, that’s what we’ve been. And so, you can’t really paint it any other way. We have shown signs for sure that we can be really good, but we haven’t been consistent enough and obviously too many losses like last night where, we should go take care of business, against a team that’s missing four starters. And we didn’t. And so it’s been unbelievably frustrating. I know it’s frustrating for our fans, frustrating for our team and coaches and management. So we’re all frustrated, but we’re going to keep fighting.”
3:08 One thing Draymond brought up last night, I’ve talked about for weeks now is like the inability to keep the ball in front of you and you go back and watch, which I’m sure you did go back and watch the Memphis game, a lot of those threes are created just by not being able to keep the ball in front of you. And it ends up being a wide open three from a guy who may not be a great three-point shooter, but I call them practice range three-point shots. We just catch it and no pressure. And you’re able to shoot it. I don’t want to have you assign blame for like why things are where they are right now, but to me, that’s at the core of it. I don’t know if it is for you when you watch it, but how big a piece is that, the inability to really — point-of-attack defense — keep the ball in front of you?
“Yeah, it’s an issue for sure. Watching the tape again, after the game, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. I thought what hurt us was the 19 turnovers that led to some of those transition threes. They hit some really tough shots in the second half, fourth quarter in particular, but those shots are easier to hit if you’ve already been able to take a few that you could line up because there was a turnover and now you’re wide-open in transition. That’s what happened, really. We gave them life with the turnovers and they hung around. They hung around and then they made big plays and tough shots the whole fourth quarter and give ’em credit. But the defense, it always starts with on-ball. I mean, if you can guard the ball, you don’t have to rotate, then you’re going to be in pretty good shape. And that has not been a strong suit of our (defense), particularly with Draymond and Gary being out so much of the season; those guys are two of our best defenders. And so that has been an issue, but we gotta keep working.”
5:08 I was going to just ask your evaluation of Draymond’s first game back. We asked you last week about him potentially coming off the bench in the return. You talked about the minutes management, 24 minutes, seven defensive boards and seven points, just how you thought he implemented back in after 16 games out?
“Yeah, I thought he played well. He looked like he moved well. He’s always out there talking and rotating and in the right spot defensively. So that was fun to watch him at work. And he knocked down a three. He’s at 44 percent on the year, by the way, which is pretty remarkable. But yeah, I thought Draymond looked good. It’ll take some more time before he can get those minutes up higher than that. But, yeah, it’s great to have him back.”
5:57 How critical is the next — and maybe they’re all critical — but it seems like, if four games under .500, I mean, you need to get back to .500, obviously, before you can start thinking about teams that are ahead of you. And the further you slip behind, it’s like the longer it’s going to take us to get there. Can you think that way? Or how easy is it to block it out, if that’s what you try to do and just say that’s too far ahead, we’ve gotta get better this game, we’ve gotta win this game and let’s worry about that without worrying about big picture stuff?
“Yeah, I can’t think that way, we just have to focus on the next game and whoever made up the ‘one game at a time’ cliche actually had it right. It’s just annoying when people say it, it really is, but it is true. We’ve got Utah tomorrow. They’re one of the hottest teams in the league, so we just gotta worry about tomorrow and then, keep plugging away.”
7:01 Well, it’s funny because — and I’ve said that before, coaches and players think one game at a time — because you don’t even know who you’re playing half the time the next week, you’re just concentrating on that game. And so they’re more micro where the fan base is always macro. Like how does this affect Playoffs or how does this affect this or how does this affect that? I know as a coach and a player, you can’t think that way at all. It’s just gotta be, do you feel like it kind of is the way it is right now with Steph — he’s been scuffling a little bit the last few weeks and it’s just odd because he’s Steph. I mean, that’s how great he is that when he has a struggle, like everybody does, it’s noteworthy because, well, he’s Steph and you don’t see it all that often. How cognizant are you of the usage and how much he’s being asked to do right now to kind of keep this thing moving, trying to get it moving in the right direction?
“Yeah. We’ve asked so much of him, obviously, not just this year, but for his entire career here. And so this year, and the last few weeks in particular, have been spiritually kind of draining for Steph. We started out the season with high hopes and then between the injuries and the suspension to Draymond and our record and just kind of where we are right now, he’s tired and that’s why we gave him the night off in Milwaukee. He was wiped out and he needed a night and came back strong last night, but he carries so much weight for this franchise and we’ve gotta, all of us, we’ve gotta do a better job of helping him carry that load.”
9:15 We played the soundbite of your comments from after the Bulls game the other night, following the Ring of Honor ceremony and the crowd reaction to Mrs. Krause. And I was just wondering because you were there for a number of years and many of us don’t know much about that era other than what we’ve seen in ‘The Last Dance’ and I would include myself in that group. I’m just wondering, based on what has been said and the reaction of the fans, do you think Jerry Krause was misunderstood?
“Oh, he was definitely misunderstood. The thing that I’ve found with the last dance, so many young people come up to me and talk to me about it, and they say, ‘Man, I can’t believe they broke up the team. And I go, are you kidding me? We were exhausted. We had nothing left, like that team was done. It was done. And so the way the perception is, from that time is that, ‘Oh, we were just going to go win another couple championships,’ and that was just not the case. For the main guys on that team, MJ and Scottie, it had been six championships in eight years. Michael missed the two in the middle, obviously, playing baseball. But that team was just not only physically but spiritually just exhausted and had nothing left in the tank. So it felt right to me at the time. But the one thing that didn’t feel right was Michael Jordan, not going back to the team, but it was for him. It was sort of all or nothing. He wanted Phil back. He wanted the group back. And when they didn’t offer that, he said, ‘Alright, I’m done.’ And that’s more the story. We were done. We were just wiped out.”
11:07 Well, I guess what fans see is they see their hero, Michael Jordan, kind of perpetuating the story that, ‘Hey, let us be the ones that don’t get it done. At least give us a chance to do it.’ And who are they going to believe? Of course, they’re going to believe Michael Jordan, even though Michael probably knew as well as you did that this probably isn’t going to happen. And everybody’s like, ‘They’re just done with each other. We’ve rode this out as far as we could go.’ But when the fans see that, then that’s what they’re going to believe.
“Right. That’s right. That’s right. I remember back then, even people said to me, ‘Man, if Michael hadn’t left to play baseball, you guys would have won eight in a row.’ It’s like, ‘No, no we wouldn’t.’ I mean, to me the whole reason for the second three-peat, which I was part of — I wasn’t part of the first three-peat — but the whole reason for the second three-peat was because Michael was so refreshed and recharged from taking two years away and playing baseball. And he came back with a vengeance. And that’s what led to that next run. But if he had stayed, I just don’t see that eight in a row. That’s crazy. It’s wild to get six out of eight. I mean, that’s Celtics type stuff is what that is.”
12:25 I gotta ask you one thing, because I know you love playing Podziemski. I love Podziemski. I love watching him play. He does so many good things that people don’t notice. But I’ve said this on the broadcast, so I can say it to you. Can we get rid of the skyhook, that thing?
“You’re not a fan of the George Mikan?”
Oh, I love it. If it went in, it’d be fantastic. I mean, he’s shooting about 15 percent on those things, man. It’s like, I gave him about five of them. And then after that, I was like, ‘All right, let’s put that on the shelf for a little while. Work on that thing.’ And then he shot one last night. I don’t think it drew iron. I was like, we gotta put this one away. I love the sky hook. I love (that) somebody uses it. But I don’t love it as much when it doesn’t result in points.
“Yeah. I don’t know. I love BP’s approach and just the way he attacks and the way he probes in the lane, I kind of think he’s eventually going to make that shot. He just has so much belief.”
Great.
“When? What did you say? When is he gonna make one?”
No, I said, great. Eventually he’s going to make one. I mean, of course he’s going to make one.
“No, I don’t — I’m not saying one. I’m saying, eventually he’s going to make that shot consistently. And that’s going to be a part of his game. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I don’t know if you remember this, but, when Klay was really young, he missed a lot of layups and his dad told a funny story, Mychal. He said, ‘Yeah, we used to call them Klayups. We were like, geez, Klay, can’t you make a damn layup? Those are Klayups.’ And I do think a lot of young players really struggle, first year or two, finishing, because those guys are so athletic and big in there but with time — and Steph’s another great example. I mean, he didn’t make those shots early on and now you see some of the shots he makes. So I really believe Brandin will eventually make that shot consistently — not make it once, make it consistently.”
(ADAM:) How many times in a row do you think he can make it? I had to get something in there.
“Yeah. That’s the better question.”
14:32 (TOM:) Oh, goodness gracious. Talking to Steve Kerr. Hey, before I let you go, how many different combinations you put on the floor, there’s some that with injuries and stuff, I’ve looked at and go, ‘I’ve never seen that one before. That one’s an interesting one.’ Is there more to explore at this point or, ‘Hey, we’re halfway through the season. I’ve run through just about every combination I can.’ It’s just about figuring out a way for these guys to maybe tighten up a couple of things or maybe more than that, but … I don’t know if there’s any factor in that. Are there more combinations and lineups that you have or is that like, ‘We just gotta play better’?
“We just gotta play better. That’s the bottom line. I mean, the experimental phase is more like the first 25 games of the year or so. And we learned a lot about our team and in that stage, I’ve said this before, the biggest problem that we had this season was the starting group not finding their way, because they’d been the best starting five in the league for the last two years from a numbers standpoint. And a really good two-way lineup for us, right? Won a championship a year-and-a-half ago with that starting lineup, basically. And coming into the year, that was the plan. Those guys, lead the way. Chris and Dario kind of lead the second unit with our young guys, sprinkled in and that was the vision and the fact that between Draymond’s suspension and some struggles with Klay and Wiggs and we just could not find a rhythm with that first group. And ever since that, we went away from them. Because we just felt like we couldn’t wait any longer. And between the suspension and the injuries, with Gary and Chris, it just feels like we’ve been jumbled ever since. So, I don’t feel like we need to experiment. I just think we gotta play better. That’s the bottom line.”
16:37 Is there going to be an update on GP anytime soon?
“When we get back in town; he’s not on the trip. So he’s at home rehabbing and so we’ll have an update next week.”
(Tolbert asks Kerr about the Siakam trade to Indiana but as of that day, it had not become official, so Copeland intervened and told Steve not to answer that question, as per NBA PR rules, coaches are not allowed to speak about players rumored in trades that have not been officially completed yet.)
17:52 TOM TOLBERT, KNBR, TUE 1/23: It is time for our weekly conversation with the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Douglas Kerr. Hello Steve. How are you guys doing? We’ve talked about this and how tough this has been and how tough a week it’s been for everyone involved. How difficult is it? And we’re talking to you so we’ll single you out, but I know you’re, just part of a greater mechanism over there that’s having to deal with all this, but having to deal with this the loss of Deki and, just trying to sort it all out in your head, and kind of grapple with it while also having to be kind of the face of an organization and leader. And trying to help everybody else, how tough a balancing act has that been for you?
“Well, the second part is, just that’s the job. Obviously we don’t ever expect something like this to happen. But this is the position I’m in. and I don’t give it a second thought. The first part is you just can’t ever reconcile something like this to see someone so young and vibrant and someone in the prime of their life, just loving their job, loving their every single day, their relationships. And then seeing that person and then seeing the family stricken with grief. It’s awful. It’s as bad as it gets. And so that part will stay with us all for a long time. And the main thing is it’s gonna obviously impact the family forever. and that’s the hardest part to think about.”
19:55 Give us something, your memories of him and being around him and what pops into your mind when you think of Deki and maybe a funny story about him that the fans may enjoy, because I only got to meet him a couple of times, Steve, like in the coach’s office before heading into your office, just saying hi to him and he’s a big guy. It looks kind of intimidating, but he’s very personable and just smiling. And that’s it. That’s it. The smile was the one thing that jumped out at me in the limited time that I had saying hi to him and just talking to him for a couple of seconds. But for those people that didn’t know him all that well, just kind of memories of him and maybe if you have a story that you think about when you’re thinking of him.
“Yeah. He really did always have a smile on his face. He always had a joke ready. And what was great about him was that didn’t change in meetings, even though we could be in the middle of the Finals and trying to make a critical decision. And he’s still got that big smile on his face. And he really had an ability to challenge the group without creating any acrimony. He just had a special way about him. I’ll tell you a good story. He had the accent given that he’s from Serbia, so English is his second language. He just had a great great way of challenging people. So I remember we had a meeting his first year and we were trying to make a decision on who to start and I said, ‘Ron what do you think?’ and Ron sort of equivocated, he said, ‘Well, if we do this, that’s going to happen. We do that. This is going to happen.’ It’s kind of a pause. And Deki looks at him. He says, ‘Come on, Ron. Show balls. Show balls, Ron.’ I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that.”
You’re totally fine. It’s all good.
“I just did. And so the whole room just burst out laughing. And then Ron, of course, fires back at Deki and everybody’s laughing and that’s kind of who he was. He just gave everybody a hard time and it was always in great fun with really good humor and just had an incredible outlook on life. He loved life. He loved every day and I loved seeing him every day and it’s been brutal coming into the facility the last few days and seeing his empty desk and not having him on the court. It’s been strange. I can’t even imagine what it’s gonna be like.
22:47 Tomorrow night when you guys look and there’s gonna be a place on the bench where he’s – it’s just one of those things and you’ve been through it – for those people who think you get back to normal you don’t. There’s a new normal and then you deal with that and move on. And that’s just kind of how it happens. You can talk about being prepared, but no one’s going to be prepared for looking and seeing that seat that’s empty. There’s just no way around it. It’s brutal and it’s gonna be hard for everybody. Absolutely.
“Yeah. It’s gonna be tough, but we’re leaning into the game. We’re leaning into each other. That’s been my message to the team. The court really should be the guys’ sanctuary. It’s the one place where you can go and kind of lose yourself. And in an activity and something that you love, get the endorphin kick from racing around the floor. I just think that’s the right thing to do, when you’re grieving, when you’re mourning you shouldn’t actually sit in your house and do that. You should get out and be active and try to immerse yourself in something you love. And so it’ll be helpful for us to start playing again. But, no doubt like you said, there’s a new normal. It’ll never be back to normal.”
24:31 I don’t know how much you read or or see what writers put out there. Marcus Thompson had a really great piece, just about it. You and handling the situation and I just wanted to commend you. It’s not a question. It’s just a statement and a thought about you because Steph had a comment where he said, ‘Steve is just human and it was about you being – I hate talking about it in this term – but equipped to handle something like this, but I was thinking about it in terms of bringing a guy like Deki into the organization and that you guys were already an established team and had won numerous titles and the story you just told and how he’s jabbing back and forth with Ron, to me, tells me you understanding what the culture is and helping build this, but also finding the people that are going to leave an impact on the organization. It speaks worlds about you as a person. It speaks tons about what the organization is and where it is. And I’m so sorry you’re going through this, but I’m really glad that you’re the guy that’s here to help get through this.
“Well, thank you. Yeah that means a lot. I just look around our organization and I just see so many people who are like-minded who share the same values. And for Steph to say that I could literally say the exact same words about him. He’s the most human superstar I’ve ever been around. He’s got this amazing sense of humanity and perspective on what really matters. It’s one of the things that makes him so special. He’s a killer competitor, but he loves the game. He loves his family, loves life. Every day he’s just got this amazing perspective and that rubs off on people. Across the organization, we have so many people who kind of share that vibe and that feeling. And it really has been a special group of people to work with.”
26:27 When you look back to the decision to bring Deki over, obviously his basketball acumen, that’s right there. That’s there to see. But what are you looking for in bringing people over? Because you brought over certain types of people and you’ve worked with certain types of people that they do kinda care about the players as individuals. And it’s not just about basketball it’s about perspective and other things. And what did you see in him that made you believe, like I know he could help us basketball-wise, but it’ll also fit in here.
“Well, first of all I give credit to Kent Lacob because Kent is the one three years ago who brought Deki to my attention. He had seen him in Europe. Kent had been in Europe scouting and gotta know Deki a little bit. And we were looking to change our staff a little bit three years ago and make some changes, just to get some new ideas, new blood. And so he’s the one who brought my attention to Deki. And Kent knew that I would connect with Deki because of Deki’s sense of humor and his sense of joy and his love for the game, love for life. And that’s really what we’re always looking for, people who are smart and know the game, but one thing I really learned from Pop (Gregg Popovich), I asked him years ago, ‘How do you pick a staff?’ And he said we’re together for 8 to 9 straight months, every single day. He goes, ‘I want to be excited to see somebody every day. Like that’s Number One.’ And I thought that was so wise because you’re just gonna have a more productive environment if you have a group of people who you enjoy being around and who are smart and collaborative. And so those were the qualities that we saw in Deki. And he really was a perfect fit for us.”
28:18 I would also imagine, too, in picking a staff and you’ve displayed this throughout your head coaching career. It’s not about me or it’s not about trying to climb the ladder in advance, it’s about the team, it’s about collaborating and if everybody does that and everybody does it to the best of their abilities, it’s a win for everybody. Like everybody will eventually get what they want, get what they desire, whether that means moving to the front of the bench, whether it means they go into a different team as a head coach, whatever it means. If we win, everybody’s going to achieve success.
“Yeah. And I tell the players that all the time and it’s a message that’s not easy to get across in the NBA, just because people are getting fired and cut and traded all the time, but if you’re able to put together something special like we’ve been lucky enough to do here, then that really is true. You can have a great environment where everybody really grows and contributes, and that’s been really fun to be a part of here.”
29:33 I’ll make the hard U-turn to hoops here and then we’re going to leave you with something that you’ll find humorous, because I’ve always felt like in times like these, laughter is definitely the best medicine. It is good to laugh. We’ve got good stuff for you. What needs to change, Steve, in the second half of this season? Like, when you take stock of what happened in the first half, and certainly injuries are part of it, but as we’ve said many times, every team can say we got injuries here, we got injuries there. This is the excuse. But if you’re losing, there’s a core reason you are losing. Have you identified anything and say, if this doesn’t change then we’re going to be in trouble?
“Well, our defense has to improve. Over the last few weeks we’re at the bottom of the league defensively and it’s so hard to win in this league if you can’t get stops and offensively our offensive rating is actually pretty decent. It’s been good, especially over the last month or so. And our guys are doing a good job of sharing the ball and moving it. But, it’s a consistency of two-way basketball that helps you win. You’ve gotta be able to do both and that’s what we’re looking for is, just finding momentum and consistency in putting together two-way lineups that can get stops and then score at the other end. And that’s the name of the game. And we just haven’t been able to do that to this point.”
31:04 Do you feel like you have enough two-way lineups?
“I do. What’s been tricky is mixing and matching and finding the right balance, because not every combination is clicking and so one injury or one ejection or suspension or whatever can lead to a different combination. We just haven’t found enough consistent combinations that have clicked. Very few teams, if any, have nine or 10 two-way players. Most teams are like ours where you’ve got some guys who lean one way or the other in terms of their production. And so it’s all about combinations and I talked about it a lot early in the season, but just not being able to lean on that starting five that we have the last few years to start the season was a setback for us because that’s really our best two-way line up, Loon, Draymond, Wiggs, Klay, Steph and the fact that that lineup struggled early and then we had the suspensions with three months. That’s kind of jumbled things in the end that we haven’t been able to fit the puzzle together since. So we’re still looking for that, but we’re hopeful and confident that we can get there.”
32:36 Kind of got spoiled early on here with seven or eight of those guys didn’t you?
“Mm hmm. Sure did. Sure did. And what do you know? We won a bunch of championships.”
32:44 (Tolbert ends with a joke about Eric Collins play-by-play for the Charlotte Hornets during KAT’s 62 points and a former presidential candidate)
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