Trying out a new format where I keep things more short and sweet. Here’s Steve Kerr after the win last night against Dallas on the emerging dynamic and connection between Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler.
The postgame also featured one Wardell Stephen Curry reminiscing on and name-dropping some past high-IQ teammates, on a daytime nationally televised game with which the jersey retirement of Andre Iguodala was scheduled — we have his pregame Walk of Fame medallion speech along with that of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber as well, below.
Plus, full transcripts…
Kerr on Podz-Jimmy:
Just IQ. Just feel for the game. Passing, cutting, rebounding. Brandin had 13 rebounds today. And Jimmy gets every loose ball. So those things add up when you get three or four more loose balls, long rebounds per game. Now all of a sudden the game opens up. Somebody hits a three, you get a little moment and it feeds on itself. And both guys just make winning plays. And when they’re out there together they complement each other really well.
Steph on Andre and others:
Yeah, that was the formula, for sure. We were just the hired guns — the reckless, attack from the perimeter and what people hadn’t seen before. Draymond was a guy that could figure out, no matter what lineup he was out there with, how to make his presence felt. And then, you heard the crowd, like Andre, Shaun, wherever, LB was out there, Mo Speights that we had, David Lee, we had so many guys who were just high-IQ veterans that understood what their role was and did it, started in that role. So all the pieces fit, they worked. And like I said, Andre was the first to understand, didn’t matter how it looked, didn’t matter what he was asked to do, he checked his ego at the door and everybody kind of followed suit. So it was a match made in heaven all the way around.
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00:00 We always talk about the non-Steph minutes and you mentioned before the game you’re winning them and you won them again. What’s the big picture? What does that do the team overall when you can win and know you can win those minutes?
00:13 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME: Yeah, the game feels easier right now for us. Every play is not as crucial when there’s a consistency of the game. You can make a mistake and keep playing and not feel like, “My God, we gotta flip things right now.” So I just think the consistency of what we’re seeing defensively is setting the tone. Points off turnovers, again, tonight was a big, big disparity in the game and that group with Draymond, Jimmy, BP, when Steph’s off the floor their defensive rating is just off the charts. And so we’re setting a great tone and then Jimmy, Jimmy just, the game makes sense when he’s out there. He gets to the line, he makes simple plays, he keeps the game under control for us. And so you can feel the difference, for sure.
01:17 Steve, Brandin and Moses were playing well before the trade, but they’ve seemed to play even better since it. What about playing in that group with Jimmy and, obviously, Draymond and Steph, also, but what about playing alongside Jimmy has helped them?
01:32 I think that the way Jimmy passes the ball, the way the possessions settle down, we’re just getting better looks. And so Moses’s shots are all open. BP’s getting wide-open threes. So the way Jimmy just handles each possession, I think he said — I read a quote from him yesterday. “We just want to get a shot on goal every time.” And that’s exactly right. There’s no reason to be in a rush in this game. And Jimmy’s never in a rush. And as a result, the ball starts to move, we break the defense down and then somebody’s getting a good look. So the game becomes much easier for the guys around him.
02:19 I have a quick follow. He and Brandin seem to have a connection. I think you even referenced why? What about their games make that possible?
02:26 Just IQ. Just feel for the game. Passing, cutting, rebounding. Brandin had 13 rebounds today. And Jimmy gets every loose ball. So those things add up when you get three or four more loose balls, long rebounds per game. Now all of a sudden the game opens up. Somebody hits a three, you get a little moment and it feeds on itself. And both guys just make winning plays. And when they’re out there together they complement each other really well.
03:00 Hey Steve, over here. Jimmy gets to the free throw line, and gets a standing ovation and it seems like there were other moments where it was pretty rockin’ inside the arena. Did the energy feel any different tonight and just what’d you kind of think?
03:13 Yeah, you can tell, our fans see the difference. They feel the momentum just like we do, so it was an important shift. The trade itself — I think I mentioned this after the Sacramento game — we just needed it. And we felt it. We were kind of treading water. We couldn’t get any traction in the season and Mike (Dunleavy, Jr.) sensed it and made the move and an you can feel the shift. Sometimes you just, you gotta shake things up and we shook things up and just so happened that one of the best players in the league was available and that doesn’t happen very often. But it’s a a move that made sense and so far it’s showing why.
04:05 Hey, Steve, you were pretty visibly upset after the first couple of minutes, down 9-4, called a timeout and then team ripped off 15 straight points between the next time out. So what was the message to the team and how’d they turn it around so quick?
04:17 We just weren’t awake in that first few minutes. The defense was scattered. We didn’t have our shell intact and they got right to the rim a couple of times. So I attribute it to the 12: 30 start. So, just needed to wake up and they were fantastic after the first five minutes.
04:35 Coach, before the All-Star Break, you guys played this same team and Kyrie Irving had a pretty good game against you guys. What was the difference tonight, defensively, in being able to stop him and ultimately neutralizing Dallas?
04:50 Well, I don’t think we did anything that different. I thought he missed a couple shots early that he was hitting in that Dallas game. Sometimes it’s as simple as that, ball goes in, ball doesn’t go in. But I think we’re a much better team now than we were two weeks ago, too. I think just having Jimmy now here for — this was his sixth game, I think. There’s a better understanding of what we’re trying to do. There’s a better connection with the group. And so I don’t think it was anything we did defensively, specifically with Kyrie. It was just more that we’ve developed some confidence and some continuity at both ends.
05:32 Steve, since the trade, you guys have made the most free throws in the entire NBA. Do you think that you’d ever have a stretch where you would lead the NBA in free throws, even just for six games?
05:42 Yeah, I mean, not only are we getting to the line more, but we’re making them and it’s — Jimmy was 8-for-8 tonight. I don’t know what he’s shooting since he’s been here, but probably 85 , so high volume attempts and a good percentage, maybe that’s rubbing off on some of other guys, too.
06:06 You guys were talking about the non-Steph minutes early to open the second and fourth. It’s really just the starters and you’re replacing Steph with Quinten.
06:13 Yeah.
06:14 Oh, I guess, why’d you kind of go to that lineup? It’s a unique way to do it and what is Quinten giving you right now.?
06:21 Well, as we talked about, we don’t want Draymond to play the 5 the entire game. So Quinten gives him the floor spacing that he needs to be the 4 with Jimmy at the 3. And Quinten has just played really good basketball. It’s more than just his shooting. He’s smart and he’s tough, he rebounds. So it seems like a good fit and they’ve performed well pretty much every time we’ve thrown them out there and it’s something we’ll keep doing for sure. So related to that, have you pretty much decided Draymond and Jimmy are pretty much gonna be together most of the minutes and that does leave Steph out there without either one of them sometimes? Is that just a calculation, like, he can hold it together by himself and let’s take advantage of Jimmy and Draymond together?
07:07 Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t etch it in stone, but the rotation right now makes sense. First time we’ve won three games in a row in a couple of months and the defense has been rock solid. Looney and Steph have a great connection. And when Loon’s the 5 and we’re out there with Steph and some shooting, whether it’s Buddy or Moses or Gui or some combination of that, and then Gary of course is out there in those minutes as well. So yeah, Steph is a little bit on his own, but ,he’s tough. He can handle that.
07:50 You talked the other day about point-of-attack defense and how much it needed to get better. How has it gotten better? It seems like Brandin’s drawn some tougher assignments now. Has he done better? And you obviously have help behind him, as you pointed out the other day. Is that what’s the difference? I guess, what’s getting better?
08:05 I think the difference is Jimmy’s kind of another Draymond behind the play. So he’s constantly blowing things up, making the right rotations and reads and that allows us to be a little stronger on the ball and cover up behind the play. So I don’t know what our defensive rating is since we got Jimmy, but I know that it’s dramatically better than what it was and there’s a reason for that and the guy is a phenomenal defender.
08:36 Worst in the league pre-Break, before these last two games.
08:39 Did Raymond (Ridder) tell you that, or — probably not? He didn’t. Yeah, I’m sure you had to, because he doesn’t do that work for you guys.
08:45 He didn’t go to Arizona. He can read.
08:52 Wow. Wow. Woah. Look at Raymond laughing at his own joke. It wasn’t that funny.
08:56 If I can ask a follow up, how has Brandin, how does he look to you defensively?
09:01 Yeah, he looks really good. Brandin is so smart and he recognizes plays before they happen. And so the connection that he’s got with Draymond and Jimmy, just making these reads, it’s fun to watch. And those guys, like I said, I think those three together, their defensive numbers are off the charts good. And so they help each other. And then BP is constantly finishing the possession with a rebound. He’s such a great rebounder. So it all seems to make sense with that combination.
00:00 STEPH CURRY: (It’s hard to) summarize a guy’s impact and his legacy and what he means to all of us in five minutes, but I think everybody felt it between his speech, me, Bob, Steve, just the whole night. It’s very weird and surreal watching him be the first one of all of us to go up there and celebrate everything we accomplished. But it all makes sense. So it was a really, really, really cool night.
00:31 Hey Steph, I don’t want to stretch this too far, but with the impact that Jimmy’s had and the way he plays and then this night, this day, being for Andre, do you feel similar — I mean, they’re not the same guy, they’re not the same player, but do you feel there’s a similar kind of impact that Jimmy’s making is kind of what Andre meant to you five, seven years ago?
00:53 If it impacts winning, then yeah, we’re off to a good start. But obviously, they’re different players, different resumes, different styles, but when they’re on the floor, usually good things happen. And you love players like that who understand the game, have a high IQ, lift the level of everybody around them. Like, that’s a hard thing to do and it’s such a commodity in the league. But then you have a superstar like Jimmy who’s done it year after year after year, you feel it right away.
01:30 Steph, Andre — excuse me, All-Star — Andre closed out saying this is the beginning of the Steph Curry celebration. That being said, on top of the fact that Jimmy Butler is playing so well with you guys and you guys are all playing well together, is there an added sense of urgency to winning this year, knowing that you guys have kind of found a stride with Jimmy Butler and hearing Andre Iguodala say this is the beginning of — basically, you can read between the lines as to what he was saying.
01:57 I think in general what I was talking about before out there, it cements a moment in time where you’re reflecting on the last, however many, whatever, 12 years, when Andre joined our team. I felt like I was kind of coming into my prime at that point and now I’m still on the floor competing. There’s a sense of urgency just ’cause you’re not gonna be able to do it at this level forever. And we talked about that pre-trade which is why Jimmy is here. And we all love expectations. We love playing for something meaningful. And the only energy you put out there is to try to get it done. So it’s a — that’s really it. His comment, I never say that about myself, but it’s just the idea that we’re in a moment where we still can win. And we’re still talking about a guy that helped us do that for a decade.
03:02 Steph, in your speech, you brought up Andre being the first outside star to choose you guys, to pick the Warriors, to kind of see the vision before anybody else. When you get to reflect years later now, what did that moment truly mean to you?
03:16 It was an unlock of confidence when you have a star who, like I said, was the face of a franchise in Philly, helped the really powerful Denver team for the two years I think he was there. And then he had a choice to make at a very important part of his career of “where I want to play for the next four years and where can I win and where can I fit in with a group that is coming into their own identity,” and that was us. And like I said, I remember the moment after we beat them in the playoffs in 2013. Like I said, we had had a history from playing together on a Team USA team and that was the first time I kind of noticed or was aware like, hey, guys see what we’re capable of and a guy like Andre, who’s one of the smartest guys in any room he walks into. And when he came with that energy of, “I love what you’re doing, I love how y’all do it, congrats,” whatever he said, to then be able to get him in free agency, that unlocked just so much confidence for us that we’re on the right path and the rest is history.
04:30 You guys are a pretty big plus in the last six games when you’re on the bench. How massive is that? And even just for you, I mean, how much more, I guess, relaxed do you feel going to the bench?
04:43 I don’t ever say I’m relaxed, but it’s the idea of just a comfort knowing when you — going back to old rotations where playing a set block out for a block, you come back in, but the formula is different with Jimmy just ’cause you can run the offense through him and not only offensively is that group figured out, but defensively I think it’s been Draymond, Jimmy, I think BP’s been out there, QP’s had some big minutes in that group, they’ve just been playing a really solid, smart basketball. And, like you said, the plus-minuses tell the whole story, totally different than what it was before where you felt a little bit of pressure to try to create a little separation because we were trying to fill some holes in those minutes. I like this formula. It makes sense. It works. We just gotta keep doing it.
05:40 Steph, you’ve talked about how Jimmy changes the dynamics for you and how every possession doesn’t feel as hard. How do you think he changes it for Moses and Brandin, who were both playing well before the trade, but it seems like they’re thriving even more now in that opening group?
06:01 It’s just another guy who demands attention or this might not be like an all-out double-team, but you see he can get into the paint if he’s not finishing for himself, he is under control and is always trying to look for the open guy. And those two guys, it simplifies their role on offense because either you catch-and-shoot or you catch-and-drive or you catch-and-swing it, you cut to open space and something good will happen. So he’s a playmaker and a shot-creator on his own. And also when he gets by his first defender, he creates a domino effect and somebody is gonna benefit on the backside. So, simplifying the game itself and simplifying decisions for other guys, it helps, especially the speed of the game. No matter what defense we’re facing, you can usually create a good shot.
06:59 Steph, I asked Andre earlier about what made playing with you guys so special versus coming from Philly. And he said you and Klay came from NBA family, so you didn’t trip off the fanfare, kind of laid back. Draymond always asked how can you be better. And then he said his veteran presence, it just kind of balanced it out. Do you agree?
07:19 Yeah, that was the formula, for sure. We were just the hired guns — the reckless, attack from the perimeter and what people hadn’t seen before. Draymond was a guy that could figure out, no matter what lineup he was out there with, how to make his presence felt. And then, you heard the crowd, like Andre, Shaun, wherever, LB was out there, Mo Speights that we had, David Lee, we had so many guys who were just high-IQ veterans that understood what their role was and did it, started in that role. So all the pieces fit, they worked. And like I said, Andre was the first to understand, didn’t matter how it looked, didn’t matter what he was asked to do, he checked his ego at the door and everybody kind of followed suit. So it was a match made in heaven all the way around.
08:23 Hey Steph, all the years you’ve played with Iggy, what stands out as one of the most memorable moments that you guys have shared?
08:40 He wasn’t — I don’t know if he’ll like this story. He wasn’t big drinker. And after he won the first championship in Cleveland, having a first shot with him, that was a big moment. It took a championship to get him to take a shot of tequila. That embodies just all the hard work that goes into it. It takes that consistent effort, that sacrifice from everybody, that experience of what a championship was like. And then he kind of let some of his little — loosened some of his personal rules and had a good night with us. So, he promised us that and he came through.
09:21 Steph, you’ve talked about how the Night-night is something you kind of use late in games when you know it’s over. Today we saw you use it in the third quarter. Is there a —
09:32 Not the first time I’ve done that.
09:34 Not the first time?
09:34 No. I did that in the Finals. So whatever the question is, it’s just a moment that I had with somebody on the other side. Longer story.
09:44 Well, on top of that, is your level of confidence the highest it’s been this season to do that, something you did earlier in a game in the NBA Finals.?
09:54 That’s a reflection of that, for sure, but I think what we’re doing right now, everybody playing with confidence, having fun, usually for me, that’s when a front-running type team where when things are going great, but you have to kind of manifest that with playing with joy. And then that feeds on itself, so the confidence produces good play which allows you to have fun and then you try to compete, repeat that cycle as much as possible. The Night-night stuff is never really predictable, it’s just whenever I’m feeling it and you gotta be good to do it.
10:35 Steph, I’m curious if you can share maybe what the best piece of advice he’s given you, whether it’s on the floor or off the court, that really kind of sticks out to you when you think about Andre?
10:47 Mmm. I don’t know if it’s a specific message, per se, but there’s just a level of maturity he brought when he came that, like I just said, me and Klay, we have been around the league growing up. The lights and the fanfare, the spotlight never really bothered us or changed who we were as people, but his presence from Day One and that maturity he brought from practice to the games to, the way he spent his time off the court, you just kind of watch it from a distance. You understood, not only, one, how to win at the highest level and the way to build a culture on a team, and from a leadership perspective, how you use your voice. That was one of the bigger things for me as a leader. But there’s just a sophistication with how he did everything that allowed us to kind of manifest greatness. And I think Coach said it out there, he’s an old spirit. He’s wise beyond his years. And yeah, I think that just gave us such a confidence knowing we could compete at the highest level, understanding that you had a guy that wasn’t gonna be rattled by anything. And that’s just who he is as a person.
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