My solution to the Jonathan Kuminga “lost faith” problem requires some foundational knowledge that, quite frankly, a lot of Warriors fans simply are not aware of.
[ASIDE: I’ve also tacked on the transcripts from the past few days. My primary motivation on all that stuff is so that it’s properly documented on the Internet somewhere, hopefully searchable by Google at some point. I do not expect anyone to read through all of it. Also, if you want the full transcripts in a timely manner, they are in fact made available in the Comments section of each of its corresponding videos on our YouTube channel. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to copy and paste them on this website efficiently this week.]
After Christmas game, which ironically was against Denver as well as involved a nice game from Kuminga, somewhat paralleling last night’s repeat loss to the Nuggets, I came to the realization that literally all the machinations of the franchise are geared toward getting Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson open. This system obviously involves Draymond Green and relies on turning defense into offense, getting out in the open floor in transition and having “organic” ball and player movement that hopefully ends up in some kind of three-pointer via “organized chaos”:
And so for everybody that comes to play for the Warriors, other than second unit sets when Steph and (maybe) Klay are (both) on the bench, their whole raison d’etre is to get the ball to the Splash Brothers. It works. It was actually the same formula even when Kevin Durant was here, because when things got stagnant, they looked to Durant in the post. They’ve even done some of that since Andrew Wiggins got here. So this fluidity is what’s taught in training camp and takes a couple years to get used to, especially if you’re a youngster. By contrast, European players like this style and pick it up sooner than later.
Secondly, Joe Lacob, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Steve Kerr and Curry are all bought in to the above ecosystem. This was evident the moment Draymond signed the $100 million extension. Kerr often uses the word “collaboration” and “in everything we do”. Any paradigm shift requires a sign-off from all four of these guys, and it’s probably five guys with Green being the fifth. You’ve seen Dunleavy already approach the Draft with great respect to the ecosystem, after Bob Myers drafted the traditional way (“best player available” or something close to that) in the past and those picks, notably James Wiseman, did not integrate as well in the stated ecosystem. Also, the 2022 championship seemed to etch the Steph-Klay-Dray and “organic” paradigm into stone.
So understanding that everything is about getting Steph open — something that was discussed at length postgame Miami…
Hh
…is paramount. If a fan asks, “Why don’t they draw up plays for JK?” or “Why do they shoot so many threes?” then you know that this foundational knowledge is not front of mind.
Finally — and I’m trying to keep these bullet points to no more than three at a time — the third foundational tidbit is that coaching a deep roster is difficult. All of the angst towards Kerr reminds me of the time when I took ten guys, “All-Stars” from my Dream League and — with the idea of playing in multiple tournaments leading up to the big annual one in Vegas — subbed in five-in, five-out because I had ten guys and, well, I could. It was a Filipino/Asian tournament held by the legendary Raffy Consing at Tice Valley Community Gym.
I had multiple agendas, even if I wasn’t really fully conscious of them. One, I was grooming the young 6’5” Jason Bi Shanghai-native-turned-Bay-Area-resident, and two, maintaining chemistry with my five main guys who I knew were gonna be with me at the Vegas tournament. We had enough talent to win this one, for sure. Unfortunately, the five-in, five-out messed with the main guys getting a groove and we ended up getting bounced early, probably in the semifinals or something. It didn’t really matter because it was kind of a messily organized tourney: three courts in one gym always sucked for those Filipino tourneys whereas the Japanese league ones, one at a time in high school gyms, were better. And we had our sights set on bigger trophies, but we still hated to lose.
The guys, particularly Taraz Lee and his buddy Mike Reding (my point guard and shooter, respectively) had to tell me after the second pool play game that what I was doing wasn’t working. So I had kid Bi sit and I was sure that he would get picked up by some other team at some point in the future and my dream of having a perennial height advantage in any future Asian tournament became bleak — finding big men taller than 6’3” was always a problem in the amateur world. So sometimes as a coach, your mind gets so occupied that the obvious gets clouded from you. It’s sometimes overwhelming.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is coaching is hard. Especially when you’re nine-deep or more. I have another anecdote on that but I’ll save it for future Moses Moody talk. The ideal rotation is eight guys. You’ll never get anyone complaining with eight guys (seven for men’s rec league which are obviously shorter games). Now, as far as “multiple agendas,” I don’t know that Kerr has any and the Warriors coaching staff’s motivations might certainly be different than mine were.
I do think that extra care for Wiggs’ well-being has probably come at the expense of Kuminga in this case. But I can see a path of why. We don’t know what Wiggins has been going through these past twelve months, but it sure seems like a large part of it is mental. And I hate “grossly speculating”, but if I’m giving the benefit of the doubt, I’m guessing that maybe the issue with Wiggs’ dad resonates with Steve, whom everyone knows lost his dad. And this is not something the media can ask about and is, of course, private.
The crazy thing is, even Kerr’s buddy, Tom Tolbert, is flummoxed as to why JK didn’t close out last night’s game: sound bite.
Again, a coach has to deal with so much shit, it gets crazy and the obvious gets clouded. This is where Steph comes in. Besides, it’s really his ecosystem. And I really do think Steve is such a nurturing, considerate guy, that he would never voluntarily actively change the paradigm or add another facet to it — like, a “pet play” as Steph says, just for JK as we would do if KD were still here — until after-the-fact (meaning after we’ve been eliminated from the playoffs). In the middle of battles, it’s gonna take your Number One Warrior to speak up.
So it’s on you, Steph, imo. The leader needs to do the leadership thing here. Go tap Steve on the shoulder, please. Go tell him, “Hey, I’m willing not to be the focus on every play while closing out a game.” (Actually the other guy could be Lacob, come to think of it.)
And with that, I’ll close on some contextual bullet points including pregame notes for the Detroit Pistons, below that:
• Steph actually alluded to “pet plays” in the Denver postgame, crediting the Nuggets who have their own.
• On the Denver livestream I thought maybe JK had been subbed for his bad defensive help play when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope benefited from a brilliantly designed play by Michael Malone involving Nikola Jokic, of course. But that happened with 2:03 remaining in the second quarter, not in the third quarter when Wiggs got rolling. But I do get it when Kerr loses trust in a young guy. That might have to be a mental adjustment in the “paradigm shift,” too.
• Shams Charania and Anthony Slater broke the report that Kuminga has lost faith in Kerr, but it is literally only ten words:
“(Thursday night) was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” one of the sources said.
… They literally turned ten words from a source into an article. Like the Moody situation, with the trade deadline looming, this is just an agent doing his job, imo. The REAL quotes are from Michael Wagaman, surprisingly of NBCSBA, like, omg an NBCSBA really was better than The Athletic 🤯 https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/jonathan-kuminga-minutes-nuggets/1688128/
“It’s tricky. Since I’ve been here, we don’t have just five guys that we know that they’re supposed to be on the floor whenever it’s closing time,” Kuminga said. “It’s a little, I don’t know how to say it, it’s a little weird. I’ve been here for three years now, I’m used to it. I’m never surprised when I see a lineup change at the end of the game or even in the game. It’s a culture thing.”
—
“I’m very proud of myself,” Kuminga said. “I’ve come so far and I still have a lot of things to accomplish. This is just the beginning of the journey, where things are just changing. Hopefully it changes even more.
“Any time I get a chance to go on the court, starting or not, I try to go out there and make sure the next time they start me or they know that if they need anybody off the bench, if they need any player that could do something, I’m always there.”
—
“I really didn’t have much to say about that,” Kuminga said. “The rest of the guys were playing good, we had a lead, everybody was happy.
“There was no explanation. I was just on the bench cheering, just like another teammate. Hyped because we were in it. I really don’t know. I didn’t see it coming at all, especially the way I was playing.”
—
“I look back, and I used to have stretches where two months I was playing good,” Kuminga said. “But I feel like now I’m even more poised and more mature knowing what I need to do instead of just being out there running wild. Now I’m more poised. I know a lot of things. I know how people are playing me. I know how people are playing us.”
• From my co-host Dean “of Positivity” Chambers: “I’m seeing all the Kerr slander on the headlines now. But I don’t think they understand that even the Nuggets, even the defending champs, aren’t missing Gary Payton II and Draymond, and don’t have anywhere near a Kuminga vs Wiggins decision to make. I want Kuminga to close games personally, but man this is a crazy roster crunch Kerr and the coaching staff are having to deal with.”
PREGAME DET-GSW NOTES
• The 10:30AM Injury Report — Detroit: Burks Questionable-Right Hamstring Soreness, Cazalon Out G League-2-Way, Morris Out-Right Quadriceps Strain, Rhoden Out G League-2-Way, Stewart Out-Right Great Toe Sprain, Umude Out G League-2-Way. (Tim Roye)
• I asked Wiseman if he hit any of his favorite food spots since he got to town (they arrived late after that OT loss to the Jazz). He said he’s already hit a couple of his favorite food trucks. Really is a happy go lucky kid. “What’s up Mr. Jason!” (Jason Dumas)
• Steve Kerr on last night’s blown lead and loss to Nuggets: “Wasn’t a whole lot of sleep. About as tough a loss as I can remember.” (Mike Wagaman)
• On Kuminga: “Obviously those things are better discussed behind the scenes, anytime something like that goes public it creates a distraction… I played 15 years and all 15 I was frustrated with my playing time.” Kerr says he encourages his entire team to voice any displeasures or complaints to him. Kerr said he’s spoken with Kuminga over the last 20 hours on the decision to not go back to him in last night’s game. (Mike Wagaman, Anthony Slater, Kendra Andrews)
• Other news: No. 1 and No. 4 defense (MIN and HOU) in the NBA and through six minutes, Rockets are 7 of 9, Timberwolves 6 of 11. Şengün vs. Gobert has already been fun to watch. (Jonathan Feigen)
POSTGAME DEN-GSW
What happened late in this game?
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME DEN-GSW: “What were we up, 16? Six minutes left, whatever it was. Gordon and Watson hit some big shots. We got a little stagnant on offense. It’s weird. We actually just watched the whole last six minutes. We’re trying to like, milk the clock in certain possessions and started to play a lot slower than we had the whole game. And then you’re subject to makes and misses with their defense set. And then on the other end, they just made play after play after play. And we just couldn’t get enough stops, had too many fouls, got them to the free throw line. They made them. And then it comes down to a bad possession by me, obviously, throwing that pass. CP’s over at the top. Never know how that plays out. And then, basketball gods took over from there with Jokic’s shot. So, tough way to finish, with how we played the whole game.”
Steph, you guys have like five of these games that you probably would have said you would have won. How do you explain a team with so much, like, championship experience, like, not?
“I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re going to be able to handle this situation. Each of them for different reasons … Sacramento game was a bunch of turnovers. This one was just one with so far offense and defense for a sustained five-minute stretch. Every other games, for different reasons. It’s just the nature of the season right now, so I don’t know. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re having to explain away bad losses, but that’s who we are right now.”
Do you find yourself looking at your record and I don’t know if it’s a what-if or whatever, but thinking what you could be if, a couple of these, and does that help or does that hurt?
“It helps because it keeps you motivated that we are a good team. Like, we’re not there, when you lose hope in yourself as a team, that’s when the conversation changes. We’re not there. It’s just, it’s frustrating because you do play the what if game and oh, we could be 21-13 right now and we’re struggling or, different, vibe around the team. Even with the record we are now, we know we can compete. It’s just, It’s a situation where you’re out there with just a look of despair on your face because you’re trying to figure out how it happened. And we have to fight that balance right now for us to give ourselves a chance.”
When you sustain a lead like you guys have with 18 points, do you think it’s just you get too comfortable or kind of overconfident?
“Nah, I think a big thing is, when you’re struggling to find out your identity, you know who you are as a team and what your identity is and how you actually win games and you play a team that knows who they are like Denver and the I think the three games we played them that’s come down to the wire pretty much every single time. They just have a chemistry that they know, whether they make or miss shots, they know what they’re trying to do and we haven’t established that. So when things start going wrong, there’s a little bit of looking around and that’s within our control to figure that out. But too many situations, like tonight where you play a hell of a game and have nothing to show for it.”
Steph, you and this team have years of experience in clutch pressure situations. How are these situations different from the previous ones where your winning percentage or your success rate was probably a lot higher?
“I was probably just on the long lines of what I just said in terms of the, like the closing line looks different for obvious reasons. And we haven’t established an identity and that’s on us to do that. Good teams know who they are, and they find ways to win, and they do it consistently, and we haven’t checked any of those boxes, so you can’t call ourselves a good team until we do. No matter how much experience we’ve had, every year is unique and different because of the team that you have and the challenges that that team faces, our strengths and weaknesses that we’ve identified, and we have not figured out who we are or been able to prove it on a nightly basis. But like I said, there’s still belief that we can.”
Klay was saying that, when Draymond comes back, the defense would be better, this would be better. How do you get past that in the meantime when he’s not here?
“I mean, tonight was tough. We’ve lost to them twice. We’ve lost to some other good teams. We won some good games since he’s been out. So we’re like 6-5 since he’s been out. Is that right? (Looks at Raymond Ridder for confirmation.) So we’ve proven it, that we can win and nights like tonight are really loud of how far we are from the team that we want to be, Draymond included, to be a competitive team that’s trying to beat the best in the league. So, like I said, hold on to that hope, but be honest with how far we are from where we want to be.”
You said you watched all of the last six minutes. Why did you subject yourself to that?
“Well, it’s fresh in my mind, just to understand what I felt on the court, what I saw and what it looked like. I mean, that last possession, obviously that turnover, I want back. But for the most part, it wasn’t that – it didn’t feel like we were not executing the way we wanted to. It’s just they, again, had their pet plays and knew who they wanted to get to and guys made shots and then it starts to feel like all the tide’s turn and you have to try to do something about it. And then, I had a couple late-clock, like busted play shots that I – one of those goes in. CP, he had a shot at the top of key, if that goes in, Klay had a runner, if that goes in. You start to look at the what-ifs, but I think I watched it more so when I wake up I can just worry about Detroit and not think about it.”
When Jamal went out midway through the third quarter, you guys closed with like a 26-10 run after he left. Your defense was really good. How much of that was him being off the floor? And how much of it was you guys just cranking up the defense and being unable to sustain it in the fourth?
“I mean, when Jamal’s out there, they know who they are. They know what they can run. So they run pick-and-roll with him and Jokic. He’s trying to get to a spot. He knows he has an outlet. Aaron Gordon had 30. I don’t know when the last time he had 30 is. And that’s a problem. Peyton Watson 19 off the bench. I don’t know the last time he had – like, those are problems. So you gotta worry about the two-headed monster of Jokic and Murray and what they do. And then those two guys changed the game. So it helps when he’s off the floor, but we just lost our mind down the stretch. I’m trying to figure out how to get enough stops to close it out.”
Steph, you’ve always struck me as a really competitive person. How much does it frustrate or anger you or what emotions do you have after a loss like this?
“You want to win every game. Some are a little easier to swallow than others. This one is. You don’t want to lose a lot of sleep over it because you’ve got to play again tomorrow, but, we’ve been in these situations for countless years and have been on the better side of it more times than not. So it’s tough for sure.”
Where’d you watch the last six minutes? Just like on your phone while you’re getting treatment? Or how did you do that?
“Yeah. My phone, NBA app. No, I got it from my video staff. They sent me the footage every game.”
Have you done that this year? Have you watched it immediately post game?
“No, no, no, not right away. Usually when I get home before I go to sleep.”
I think they closed the game on 25-4 run. What do you think kind of went most wrong down the stretch?
BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI POSTGAME DEN-GSW: “We fouled on defense. Offense, we just forced the ball in Steph’s hands and kind of relied on him to take it home for us. Too many things.”
What were you thinking when Jokic launched that long shot?
“I mean, honestly, all I thought about was him against the Lakers last year in the playoffs and him hitting those crazy shots over Anthony Davis, because as soon as I saw him load up his feet like he was gonna shoot it, I was like, just the way the momentum was going in the game, like, had a good chance of going in.”
What do you think about all the clutch games you guys have been in? It’s up to 27 now. How do you manage those emotions?
“I mean, a lot of them could be prevented, I think. I just saw somewhere that we’ve blown four games that we’ve led 18 or more in. A lot of them could be prevented, plays here or there, down the stretch. And even plays in the first half that you don’t really think about, because it’s the end of the game, that impact the outcome. We have a lot of those plays that tend to not go our way and our record reflects it.”
Don’t necessarily need you to rank them, but like, is this worse than the Sacramento one? Worse than the Clippers one? Some of the other ones?
“Probably not the Sacramento one, just because that’s In-Season Tournament play. That’s to go to Vegas. But they all sting. They all count as a loss in the column. and 16-18 is probably not where we should be.”
You said you had a couple games like this. How how are you learning how to recuperate after something like this?
“Maybe play again tomorrow against the Pistons young team. Compete every night. Obviously the record doesn’t reflect that but you can’t sulk. You gotta go on the next night or the night after but everybody when they’re on the floor, just taking control is the most important thing.”
Brandin, just out of curiosity There are a lot of winners in that locker room in this season. You guys have these big momentous wins and then these deflating losses. What is the mentality when you are having to deal with this roller-coaster of a season so far?
“The mentality for me as a rookie, I’ve probably never lost like this. I’ve never had such good wins and such bad losses So I kind of lean into the vets on what they think and they just tell me it’s another game coming and just try to be consistent in your daily habits, your routine and, more often times than not, we’ll come out with a victory. But like I said, we’re blowing a lot of leads, could easily have 20, 25 wins this year.”
I think you’re a 3-for-3 from three in the third quarter, and I wish I was asking this under better circumstances, but there are times in this game where you looked a little frustrated. How did you shake that off to kind of go just to the next play?
“Definitely played very poorly, first half. I don’t know. I don’t know, but it’s two halves to game for a reason. It’s halftime for a reason, just falling into the game. Not really thinking about anything. Just losing yourself in the game. Steph talks about it every game before the game. And I felt like I did that, for the second half. Made some shots, but we lost.”
Klay, you guys came out extremely aggressive in the third. What did you think happened when you guys lost the lead?
KLAY THOMPSON: “I think we probably just got too cool out there rather than playing with that same grit that had us up double digits.”
You guys have had like four or five of these, kind of late game, losses this year. I mean, is there a common thread with these?
“I don’t know. I think we have the ability to close and I think the silver lining is that there have been a lot of games like this. Therefore, there’s no reason to let doubt creep in. Let’s just learn from it, dissect the film and learn how to close because I wholeheartedly believe in this team and we’re obviously without one of our best players and it will help very much when Draymond comes back and we’ll figure it out.”
Klay, do you remember what was going through your mind when Jokic shot it from 39 feet?
“No way. He’s a great player, though. That was a big shot.”
And you talked the other night about, you know how that conversation with Steve really kind of helped you change your mentality. Has it been easy to kind of stick with that same mentality the past couple days? Do you feel like that was kind of a turning point?
“Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Steve really helped me not look for external validation. Helped me relax and enjoy the game I love so much again rather than trying to please naysayers or whoever. He just is really good at giving us players perspective about things.”
What does ‘playing it too cool at the end’ mean to you?
“Not being as aggressive to go to the rim. Maybe leaving shooters too wide open. I mean, give credit to Peyton Watson. I know he’s not the greatest three-point shooter, but he hit a huge three. And yeah, that’s what it means.”
Klay. Y’all spent so many years knowing exactly what you were going to do as a team at the end of the games. Is there any drawback from like not having anything said and it being game-to-game who’s playing and what you’re doing out there?
“I don’t think so, because I think every year is totally different and unique. So this year it’s been rocky at times, but luckily it’s an 82-game slate and we have a lot of basketball ahead of us. Obviously, we have a golden opportunity here with three more games on this homestand and we look forward to being victorious in all of them. That would be a nice way to kind of turn things around.”
You mentioned how much you guys miss Draymond. Where did you see moments down the stretch where he could have been very helpful to you?
“Everywhere. I mean, it’s Draymond Green. He does everything. We’re all just so excited when he comes back because, it doesn’t even have to be stated what he means to this team.”
MICHAEL MALONE POSTGAME DEN-GSW ON HAVING A YOUNG BENCH: “…and the reality is, we know we’re playing a lot of young guys off of our bench, so when you play young guys, there’s gonna be some ups and downs. And we’re living with that because we feel that Christian, Peyton, Julian, all those guys have very bright futures ahead of them. So the experiences that they’re getting now is only going to help us as we move forward, not just this year, but for many years to come.”
ON HOW THEY PULLED OUT THE WIN: “…and then, just guys understanding Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Podziemski, who played really well. That kid’s got a bright future. And locking in. Last year we had the third best clutch defense in the NBA. And I think tonight, down the stretch, that showed.”
KERR PREGAME/POSTGAME DEN-GSW
Another obvious question for you. Obviously, we got an update on Draymond Green. He’s not been in the facilities or he has been? And if he has been or has not been, when do you expect that you probably will get to see him?
STEVE KERR PREGAME DEN-GSW: “I don’t know at this point. Yeah, I mean, until the league lets us know their decision on his suspension, there’s really nothing to update.”
That was gonna be my question. There’s a report out. Is there any inkling of if he’ll be able to be here in the next few days, and I don’t know that. So, apparently someone else does, but I don’t yet. I think as we understood it from Mike Dunleavy, he said Draymond could practice with the team — that was back in mid-December — but he hasn’t followed up on what you said yesterday about how space was a good thing. Why did you guys want some space?
“Well, I think, right from the beginning, yeah. This was not a sprained ankle, this was not a twisted knee. This is, an issue that Draymond is trying to get help with. And so space was important for him and for us. We’re trying to win games, and he’s trying to put himself in a position to come back. And so, him not being here is not an issue at all. In fact, we discussed it and decided that was the best way to go.”
Getting back to injuries, your thoughts on Gary? Of course, he’s going to be out for a significant period of time with that left hamstring strain.
“Yeah, it’s a huge loss. I mean, Gary’s one of our best defenders, obviously a very unique player, plays with Steph really well, understands how to play with him. And obviously it’s just coming off a month-long absence. So it’s really disappointing for us. And of course for Gary and he’s back in the facility getting treatment and he’ll do his best to get back as soon as possible. But we’ll definitely miss him.”
Steve, Klay came in the other night and explained that you and he had a conversation and he probably said some things that you would prefer to keep in-house, but he said it was great for him and good for his mindset. I’m wondering, as a coach, on your long list of responsibilities and job duties, how often do you have to just pull someone aside and just kind of, say, just have a chat with them?
“Basically, I would say more days than not, because we have 15 guys and everybody is going through something and as a coach, your job really is to put players in the best position to be successful. And that means helping them with their mindset. It might be a conversation about their role. It might be a conversation about a perspective or something off the court, could be anything but it’s a huge part of the job.”
Did you hear what he said the other night?
“I did, yeah. Yeah, I read it.”
And what was your reaction when you saw it?
“No, it was good. I mean, I think for everybody, for all of us, the perspective is so important. This is a very stressful job, but only relatively speaking, and when you’ve been in this league for a while, you tend to take some things for granted. And you start to focus on some of the difficult stuff, the injuries, the criticism, and that’s just human nature. And so, I think it’s great. I know as a player, I was appreciated when I had coaches who offered perspective and there’s no question, this is a difficult job at times, and these guys go through a lot. But it’s also one of the greatest jobs in the world. So you gotta find that balance.”
You guys have had, like, top-level offense the last handful of games, obviously not defensively. As you kind of reform and try to figure out who you guys are, what’s the balance of deciding, hey, just, like, lean hard into offense, or needing to still protect the defensive end?
“Yeah, we’re trying to find the balance. We’re trying to improve our defense and we know areas we have to improve offensively. I think we’re doing better because we’re taking care of the ball. We’re averaging fewer turnovers per game in the last ten than the first 22, 23 games. I think we’re getting good spacing where we got a threat with Trayce, as a dive man getting to the rim, lob threat. I think we’re simplifying some of our actions and just running a handful of things, and I think all has helped. But we have to be a two-way team if we want to have a really good season. We know that, so the defense is really where we’re working hard.”
Steve, not a Warriors question, but what do you remember about one year with Shaq, I think his rookie year?
“His rookie year. I was traded there midway through the season.”
You remember the time you spent with him and his career in general, especially with him?
“What I remember about Shaq that first year was just how he took over that city, from an energy standpoint and joy and zest for life. I mean, this guy just came in and just steamrolled everybody. I mean, he was so dynamic as a player, but also his personality, his charisma. And he was so kind. I remember being out to lunch with him a few times and he’d leave the waitress a $100 tip on a $30 tab. I mean, he was just magnanimous and charismatic and this dominant force. So rare to see someone play that way, that powerful and that athletic at that size. And then, the personality as well. So it was fun being a part of that first year.”
Coach, experimenting these last few games has gone pretty well for you guys with guys like Kuminga and Trayce, all of them kind of finding a space on the floor to play. Well, Moody has fallen out of the rotation with GP2 kind of being out for the next month, possibly, do you see him falling into the rotation? I know Jason (Dumas) said that Mike Dunleavy actually said something about finding a more consistent role.
“Yeah, I mean, Moses, I’ve been impressed with since the first day he arrived here, his maturity, his work ethic, his awareness. So he knows he’s just gotta stay ready. Things have turned in the opposite direction for him over the last week or so, just because we’re experimenting with different combinations, different lineups. We’re trying to put some people together, avoid putting other people together. So it’s been complicated through a lot this season and right now he’s just a victim of the numbers and the direction that we’ve decided to go. But I know how professional he is. I know Moses will stay ready and when he gets his chance, he’ll be ready for it.”
Two things for you, Steve. The Christmas game was ten days ago. How fresh does that game feel in your minds?
“Yeah, I mean, it was a frustrating game for us. We played well enough to win, too many fouls, obviously. Preparing for this game, we watched that one again. And so we have a pretty good feel for how we match up against these guys, what we need to try to do, and we’re confident that we can get it done. We’ve gotta be more solid. We weren’t organized the entire game offensively. We had some random possessions that hurt us, and then all the fouling in the second half really killed us.”
And then the second thing, going back to Shaq, did you know that he has a second life as a festival DJ?
“I knew he was a DJ, but I don’t even know what a festival DJ is, so…”
Well, your favorite, techno music.
“Oh, yes, yeah. Is he working in Phoenix by any chance?”
Yeah, DJ Diesel.
“I did not know that.”
I mean, the rhetoric coming out of that Christmas game was about the fouls. You said you re-watched it. What do you need to do better fouling wise? And then, when you watch those fouls, how much is your frustration level still kind of —?
“Yeah, I mean, I got no problem with players, manipulating the rules to get a foul. I mean, I think I might have told you the Chris Paul story from a couple years ago when he was with Oklahoma City. Did I tell you this? I can’t remember. No, he did the swipe through, like at halfcourt. and I’m like, I can’t believe, we called a swipe through at halfcourt and they were in the bonus. He walks to the line. I look at him. He looks at me. He goes, “Hey, if they’re going to call it, I’m going to keep doing it.” I said, “I don’t blame you. It’s two free throws.” So, I think the league is really interested in creating a flow to the game. You look at the offensive rating, ten of the top twelve offensive ratings in the history of the NBA are this year. Ten teams from this season! And so players have gotten so skilled and pace has gotten so fast and coaches are putting five three-point shooters on the floor. So, this league has always been really proactive in figuring out what’s gonna put the best product on the floor. When I retired, my last year, I think the Finals games in ‘03 when we played the Nets, were like 75-68. It was bad. It wasn’t fun to watch. And the league kind of altered the rules a little bit and the game opened up and the product’s gotten way better and the league is on top of this and I think I’m just one of 30 coaches. We want to see teams be allowed to play defense, too. And some of the calls are — and as I said, the refs are just doing their job. So we just have to examine it as a league. What do we want to call and how much do we want to allow the defense to compete? I think it’s going to head in a good direction because the league is always proactive with this stuff.”
Same lineup? What are you going to say?
“We’ll see. We’ll see.”
————
They closed the game on a 25-4 run, but you just kind of think what went most wrong in those final six?
KERR POSTGAME: “Yeah, I mean, I just give them credit. They really tightened up defensively. And then, their guys hit some big shots. They got to the line. Aaron Gordon was fantastic tonight, really dominated the second half in the paint, and especially the fourth quarter. And then, Watson hits the big three. That was probably the shot of the game. And they did a good job getting stops. So, I feel for our guys. That’s a really tough one. I mean, our guys played great, 35 assists and 10 turnovers. And we executed most of the game, but couldn’t score and couldn’t get stops in that last 56 minutes.”
You’ve said it a couple times this year that you usually get, one, maybe two of these like gut-punch losses. It feels like these are piling up a bit. I mean, is that kind of the internal sense, too?
“We’ve had a few of them this year. It’s a part of being in the league, everybody’s got amazing talent and great coaching and these games all come down to the wire. It feels like for us this year, and we’ve probably lost four or five that we should have won. Maybe we’ve won one or two that we shouldn’t have. But, yeah, these are gut-punches for sure.”
Give the Nuggets credit, but from your coaching perspective, was there a breakdown in the fourth quarter on the side of the Warriors? Did you see a breakdown at all, whether it was the shots that just weren’t falling anymore or fouls that started to pile up? What did you see?
“Yeah, they just went on a great run. They made stops and they tightened up their defense. We couldn’t really get many great looks. And they scored. Like I said, I think they got to the line 21 times in the second half. And those hurt, just, I thought our defense was really good. It wasn’t a matter of us reaching, but I thought Gordon’s physicality in the paint was really the key in the second half.”
Kuminga, it looked like he was giving you a good game. What went into the decision not to have him play in the fourth?
“Yeah, he was playing great. And his normal time to go back in would have been around the five-, six-minute mark and Wiggs was playing great. And we were rolling. We’re up 18, 19, whatever it was. And so we just stayed with him (Wiggins). And then at that point, it didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do. He’d (Kuminga) been sitting for a while. So I stayed with the group that was out there. And obviously, we couldn’t close it out.”
You only score four in the last, I think, 6:34. What do you think was the biggest offensive problem, like, what bogged you down?
“We just weren’t getting great penetration. Earlier in the game, we were getting a lot of pocket passes, from the perimeter and then playing kind of 4-on-3, 3-on-2, and we didn’t get any of those. They really tightened up. And so we had to take a lot of contested shots and they buckled down. Like I said, I give them credit.”
Steve, what do you think of the contributions from Brandin tonight, especially in the third quarter?
“Brandin was great. He really played well and he plays well every night. He’s a two-way player and the ball moves when he’s out there and he’s a tough defender. So Brandin continues to grow.”
Coach, you talked a lot about perspective before the game, kind of feeding off of Klay’s comments. How hard is it to kind of get your team to keep perspective after a loss like this?
“I mean, it’s still a game, like we lost a game and this is our job and losing sucks. We get to come back here tomorrow and play another other NBA game and we gotta bounce back. So this is all part of this life. You know that we all live, highs and lows and everything in between. So this is a tough one, as tough as they get, this loss tonight. But we gotta bounce back tomorrow.”
With four seconds left, the ball was in Jokic’s hands and he is who he is, but it also feels a little improbable that a center would hit a 39-foot three-point shot. What did you think when he launched that?
“It didn’t look like it was going in when it left his hand. It looked long, but obviously, it banked in. But if anybody’s gonna make it, it’s him. He’s a great player.”
Steve, it looks like Denver knows exactly who they want to go to and what they wanna do in the fourth quarter. That used to be how you guys operate. Is it difficult with so many players and so many rotations to kind of get that crunch-time offense and defense down?
“I think, maybe we haven’t found that yet because we’ve had different rotations, different lineups and as you said. But we still have to figure it out. We still gotta do a better job getting open looks and that’s on us as a staff to help the players and get us to that point. Thanks.”
KERR ON RADIO, DAY BEFORE DEN-GSW
TOM TOLBERT, KNBR: “I don’t know why I said Kerr (with an inflection). That was kind of weird. I have no idea.
STEVE KERR, ONE DAY BEFORE DEN-GSW: “You know what it was, it was the Orlando Magic presence last night in our building and your fondness for Paul Porter, long-time Orlando Magic PA announcer, that’s how he would say my name when I did go in once every five games.”
Oh my goodness gracious, ‘Two minutes of the Mac attack,’ one of my favorites of all-time. That’s one of my top stories, NBA stories of all time. Like, Oh, you think this is a real professional league, huh? Check this out. It was incredible. It’s 100-98, 40 seconds left, but let’s worry about a Big Mac. Sure. Why not? Oh, goodness gracious. That was, I mean, there was nothing to me last night that I mean was really out of the ordinary There’s a couple things I want to ask you about but it’s just like, Steph was Steph which is spectacular most times, which we take for granted. But everybody else was just very solid I thought, like you guys took care of the rebounding after the first half where you guys got mauled in the first half. But you took care of that in the second half. And everybody, to me, everybody just kind of did what they can do. Like they didn’t try to do too much. They weren’t like malingerers out on the perimeter, just kind of doing that. Like everybody did what you hoped they could do. And it was just a good, solid game, I thought.
“Solid win against a good team. You know that team is really talented. They’re big and athletic. And as you mentioned, pounded us on the glass in the first half, but, I just, I like the way we hung tough at the moments where it felt like it could slip away and we’d get a stop and a score at the other end and keep the momentum. Klay Thompson had the key play of the game. He had that diving save … I think we were up with seven minutes left, and then he saved it. We scored at the other end and that gave us some momentum. And yeah, I agree with you. Everyone did a really good job, played well, and we took care of the ball…”
Did you play less zone in the second half? Like I thought you might have, but I’m not positive. And I know it’s hard to rebound defensively when you’re playing zone because a lot of guys just don’t know who to box out. Not that they box out. Anyway, who am I kidding? Even if they did they might not know who to pick out … Maybe there was a little less zone in the second half and it’s easier to rebound, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong, was there?
“Yeah, I mean, theoretically, it’s easier to rebound… If you would so choose to box, if you would so choose, we’ll put it, but we did play less zone in the second half. Yeah, Orlando is 30th in the league in three-pointers, attempts and percentage. So, that’s their weakness as a team is three-point shooting. They are big and athletic. As I said, they get to the rim, Banchero and Wagner. Monsters, just getting to the rim and they’re a good, young team. Klay did a really good job staying in front of Banchero and we didn’t foul a ton, which was important. So, yeah, I thought the defense was better and we needed to win … three in a row. We were heading in the wrong direction. We really needed that game. So, very proud of the guys, the way they got it done.”
So let me ask you about a couple of plays and they’re very similar plays, but they’re both plays by. Kuminga in the third quarter, and they’re not gonna jump out at anybody. They’ll show up on the box score as assist, but they were the type of assist like I thought in the third quarter, and I’d love to see him do this a little bit more. And I understand like he’s gonna have his ups and downs. He’s still growing. But the two passes he made, one to Steph, one to Klay where it wasn’t the pass. The passes were easy passes. But it was the decision and it was the quickness in which he made the decision. He caught it and it was almost as he saw it before it happened. He didn’t have to wait and catch it. And he just knew, here comes the ball. Steph’s open. Let’s get it to him. There’s Klay. He’s open. Let’s get it to him. Like those to me were like, okay, because that and even if they make it or miss it, Steve, that’s not the point. It was like he saw it. He, almost like he saw before it happened. And I thought those, I don’t know if anybody else got excited about those, but I thought that was a nice step for him.
“Big-time. And that’s what we’ve seen now the last couple of weeks. The recognition of the quick swing, how important that is, whether it’s an open shooter or you swing it and the guy now is able to attack a closeout. And as that ball moves, that’s what we know. We always talk about ‘0.5 basketball’. We want you to make your decision in half a second and that recognition and that willingness to just move it. just makes often so much easier, and it creates advantages. And those two plays were huge in my mind, not only for the game itself, but in terms of watching what Jonathan is starting to recognize.”
We talked a lot earlier about the comments Klay made after the game and I mean, they were encouraging. It was cool to hear a player speak so openly about something that we all knew he was struggling with throughout the season and to hear that it was a conversation with you, I thought was a great idea, a really cool thing because you’ve been around so many players and so many different situations throughout your career, both as a player, executive and coach. I just wonder when you know that it’s time to have that conversation or how that comes about, because you guys have known each other for so long, and I imagine I know different guys have to be managed and coached and taught different ways. So at this point in his career, he’s still learning something different from you. Can you just tell us about that process and how you recognized it was time now to do that?
“Yeah, well, I mean, I think that’s the job really, I mean, the X’s and O’s and the sub patterns like that. Obviously we put a lot of time into that. But the job of the coach is to recognize what each player’s set of circumstances are, what’s going on with his game and his life, like how can you help a player play his best, and that’s the job. And what I talk about all the time with our coaching staff is how unique every player’s circumstances are. And every single one of these guys has tremendous pressure on him. Some of it self-imposed some of it, social media, some of it’s financially, so these guys have a lot of stress. And yes, they have dream jobs. But it’s not easy being an NBA player … We try to recognize what guys are going through and then just help them get through stuff and help them have a good healthy perspective and help them play their best. And that just consists of a million conversations during the season, hitting guys up every day, checking in. And Klay, we’ve been here together for 10 years. He’s been here for 12 or 13 (years). I’ve been here for 10, so we know each other and I just know how hard he is on himself, and he’s a perfectionist. He wants to make every single shot … the main thing for me, I want to see Klay enjoy the fruits of his labor. He’s earned the right to enjoy these last years of his career. However many years he plays, I just want him to embrace everything and enjoy it all because he’s earned that, he’s an amazing player and a great, great teammate.”
Didn’t it seem like for at least one night, like the weight was lifted off his shoulders a little bit like he didn’t force the game. He wasn’t chasing the game. He wasn’t hunting shots. He just kind of letting the game come to him in whatever way it took him. He just did as well as he could and he ended up having a really good, really efficient game on both ends of the court.
“He was great. He was great. He just played the game. He didn’t force anything. He wasn’t trying to prove anything. He did a great job on Banchero as I mentioned. He took good shots. He made some big ones, made some big plays off the ball. I mean, that’s it. If you can make the simple play and just not force anything, you know that that’s the way to go. And that’s what played outlast night.”
Yeah, I think for him, it’s just keeping in mind, ‘You know what? You don’t have to be who you were, just be the best version of who you are.
“Yeah, because he’s still really good. Yes, I mean, and even when he doesn’t make shots, he’s pulling two people with him all the time when we bring him off stagger screens and he’s running off-ball. People chase him. They’re still terrified of him, and that alone, sets something up offensively for other players, even if he’s not making shots. So that equates to such a huge part of our team and still can play really good. But this isn’t 2017. It’s not pre-ACL, pre-Achilles. It’s just times are different, and I thought his performance last night was indicative of what he’s capable of every single night, whether shots go in or not.”
I know you’re more immersed in like day-to-day operations and game-to-game operations, but we were talking earlier on in the show how interesting, important, however you wanna characterize it, it’ll be for the Warriors organization over the next couple months with the trade deadline, dooming – Dooming? Looming. Dooming, bad choice of words. We got Draymond coming back, not sure when that’s gonna happen, not even sure how that’s gonna look. When he comes back, how big is this in the next month and a half, or what? I don’t wanna say what kind of decisions are gonna be made, but for me, it’s like, do you stay, do you go, do you try to add? You’re in that position now where the guys who won the championship are starting to get a little bit older and you’re trying to figure this out. I mean, do you think it’ll be a – let’s just put it this way – do you think it’ll be a pivotal next month and a half, two months before the trade deadline?
“Yeah, I think that’s fair. It doesn’t mean we’re going to do anything. It just means that we have to consider everything because of where we are. We’ve, I’ve been here, this is my 10th year, and almost every year, I would say, maybe, 7 of the 10, the trade deadline was, just came and went. We knew what we had, we knew who we were. And if there was anything that was going to happen, it was going to be on the fringes. The big exception would be the year we had the worst record. We had all the injuries. We ended up trading five guys and getting below the cap. I think that’s when we got Wiggs for D-Lo. Like that was pretty crazy. But that was like the only year that ever felt like there was anything possible coming and but that’s a result of success. When you’re successful, and you know who your team is, you don’t really have to do much. But I think where we are right now, 16-17. We have a really deep roster. I keep saying it. We got 13 guys who could be conceivably in the rotation. And only nine or ten spots each night to offer. This is just where we are. So there’s going to be a lot of chatter. There’s going to be plenty of teams calling Mike Dunleavy and his staff to ask about our guys, and we have to consider everything because that’s, frankly, just where we are. We’re not good enough right now to warrant saying, ‘Oh, no, we’re, we’re fine.’ We’re not fine. We’re trying to get better. And so we have to be open to everything. And that’s not an easy thing to be in for the players, but it’s the reality of being an NBA player.”
Is there a case to be made for trading multiple players for a player or I guess what I’m getting at is, you guys are so deep right now. So it’s kind of complicated from night to night. It would be less-complicated if you just had fewer players, so everything was cleaner.
“Depends on who that one player would be. Sure. Of course … but I think we are in a unique situation in that we have a lot of really good players. Yeah. A lot of desirable players who could be in a rotation elsewhere who may – you just don’t know how this stuff plays out. But, I’ve said it many times, I love this roster. I love the guys on the team. For a variety of reasons, we just haven’t been able to put it together, whether it’s the Draymond suspensions, the injuries, the inconsistency early on in the season. Just haven’t quite put it together yet. But I still am very confident that this team can get to the next level and really become a contender. I really believe that. And that’s the goal.”
By the way, tickets for all Warrior home games are available for purchase at warriors-dot-com. Even in an event of a sellout, you can buy resold tickets by other fans that are guaranteed 100% by the Warriors organization. Special note, the January 10th matchup with New Orleans tips off now at 5:30PM instead of the usual 7 o’clock weeknight time… Make sure you’re up, make sure you’re up by 5:30PM. That’s a weird start time for a Wednesday. You better make sure you tell all the players, Steve. Make sure they show up on time. Show up at warm up time. What the hell? What’s happening now? What the hell is that about, dude?
“Did I ever, did I ever tell you my John Salley story from, from the Finals? I think he was with us in the 90s. I think it was ‘96. Yeah maybe ‘97, but he walked into the locker room for a Finals game an hour late. And we’re like, ‘John, where were you?’ and he said, ‘Well, the paper said the game was eight o’clock. Like what paper was it? It’s like USA Today. But that’s East Coast time. So, way to be locked in and focused!”
Using the paper for your playoff game. Like, what time do you play? I’ll get you a set a day. They’ll tell us. That’s a hotel room floor. Like, we know. We all got one. All of our younger listeners are like, wait, what? What’s, wait USA Today? What’s that? Yeah, exactly. They have no idea… Before I let you go, I have to ask you about this. We’ve talked about it a few times this year, but what the hell was that challenge last night?
“By Orlando?”
No, by you. Theirs was done. Theirs was a bad one, but I wanted to know what you guys were doing.
“We didn’t. We didn’t challenge last night. The ref thought we challenged.”
Ohhh…
“And so we did not challenge. It was a really weird play because there was a timeout coming. It was an automatic timeout. And you know the fans were booing, and I turned around and looked at our guys who monitor the replay, and they shook their heads. And the referees looked at me and said, ‘Time out?’ I nodded my head and they, I guess they thought I was challenging. So yeah, but I wasn’t challenging anything. It’s a total miscommunication. So they started speaking on the PA, like, the Warriors are challenging and I looked at ’em, I said, ‘No, no, no, no. I didn’t challenge that.’ So yeah, I have no idea what happened because I never said anything about a challenge. They were just assuming maybe from the crowd’s reaction. I don’t know.”
Did you tell him, ‘Look,we’ve already had enough bad challenges. I don’t need your help. Okay?’
“Yeah. I suck at this.”
I don’t need any help with this. Give us that one back. We’d love to have that one back.
“By the way, I did not throw a red flag onto the court. Did you see a red flag anywhere?”
I did not. I think that would, well, wouldn’t that be better? I’d enjoy it more. (More jokes ensue with baseball references and dogs and monkeys.)
WILLARD & DIBS, 95.7 THE GAME: We’d love to start with some fascinating comments from Klay Thompson with regard to a discussion that the two of you had in helping sort of adjust his mindset. What can you share about that conversation?
“Well, I mean, I don’t really. comfortable sharing details of conversations like those, but I know Klay did, himself. I guess he told the story after the game last night. So without going into detail, I think these are just conversations that I have with players all year just based on their own set of circumstances and where they are. And that’s a big part of my job, is just trying to help these guys have a good perspective and a good approach. And so it was nice of Klay to credit me with that, but that’s all part of the job.”
Did you see Klay apply what you were trying to impart in that conversation? And how did you think that Klay played on the heels of you having that conversation with him?
“I thought Klay played really well. He got the three fouls in the first half. And he only played nine minutes because of the foul trouble. But, second half, he was great. He had a tough matchup with Paulo Banchero and really battled him and played him well that whole second half and hit some big shots. I thought he made the key play of the game on the save underneath out of bounds. I think Trayce came over and blocked a shot. The ball was going out of bounds and Klay saved it and we got two at the other end. That was a momentum-changer. So I thought Klay was fantastic.”
Coach, I’m mindful that, at least, Dibs and I don’t think we’ve spoken directly to you since right after you guys beat Boston, your signature win. And then we headed into the holidays and in that moment, things were really on an uptick. And then you finished off a five-game win streak, but then there was the dip that started on Christmas Day. So what’s your assessment of the overall play since then, since that game against Boston?
“Well, we, obviously we went, went to Denver lost on Christmas Day and what was a really good battle. I mean, we fought and I thought we had a real chance and that loss was not demoralizing at all. We came home from that feeling like we very easily could have won that game. So, to start the road or the homestand with two losses was definitely a setback. We really had to respond to that. And we did. Last night. But look, this is kind of where we are. We’re 16-17. We’ve been up and down all year. Our point differential is, like plus 0.5. So this is who we are right now. We’re a .500 team. We’ve gotta get better. We’ve gotta win more of these close games, but we know we can make some strides.”
I normally love parades, Steve, but I don’t like parades to the foul line. I’ll just leave that there in reference to Christmas. I thought your comments were spot on. How do you and the staff go about finding consistency with the team, not only the rotation and many fans questioning why this player doesn’t play and this guy plays too much, but how do you get overall consistency from the players you do choose to play?
“Well, it is difficult because we’ve got 13 guys who all have a case to be in the rotation. And the reality is you can only play nine, maybe ten. So every single night, there’s going to be three or four guys who get left out. And that’s not an easy way to play. It’s not an easy way to coach. So, generally, you want to give every player the opportunity to really separate himself from the pack and get consistent minutes, and we either haven’t had that happen or haven’t had that luxur, based on the suspensions, the injuries, guys in and out. And the biggest thing is everyone just gotta stay ready and when their chance comes, make the most of it. And that’s what I tell our guys all the time.”
19-and-6 for Jonathan Kuminga; it feels like maybe there is some more consistency than there’s been in the past. And obviously he’s getting much more of a chance. What do you see right now in the coming development?
“I just see consistent minutes, with three months being out over the 10 games. I think JK has started every game since the Draymond suspension began. And that’s the opportunity that has kind of given him the chance to play through some mistakes and make some strides. I think there’s some key areas where he’s gotten better and that’s what he needs. He’s got a lot of time. He needs the consistent minutes and the time and the leeway to be able to play through those mistakes, and then he’s doing a really good job of learning from them. Over the last couple weeks, he’s taking better care of the ball. He’s not fouling as much and he’s moving the ball quicker. The ball is not sticking like it did earlier in the season with him, so I’m really happy with his development.”
You gave Trayce Jackson-Davis the start over Kavon Looney and it feels like just watching it from afar that he’s growing into his role rapidly. What are you seeing from TJD that has you so excited to put him in the starting lineup more often?
“Well, he’s a pretty talented young guy, but he’s experienced because of the four years of college. So we knew right away, first day of training camp, basically, that this guy had a fundamental base foundation underneath his game and that he was going to be playable right away. And he’s different from our other bigs, different from Draymond, different from Loon. Plays a little more above the rim, as a shot-blocker is a lob threat. But he’s really good positionally. He’s strong. He’s smart. So Trayce is an excellent prospect and I feel good putting him out there and we’ve decided to start him, just to change up the look and search for a little more offense out there to start the game and he’s done a nice job.”
Coach, this will be no surprise to you. The pregame comments about Draymond Green, getting some space from you guys and you guys getting some space from him, have led to a lot of commentary and questions with the Warrior fan base and our listeners today. Can I start by asking, going into this whole thing, the thought process from the fan base, an assumption, which clearly was not right? What was that? He was gonna practice and be around the team. Can I ask why? Why is he not?
“The thinking was, when he got suspended, this was not a sprained ankle, right? This is not an injury. This is, I think without going into specifics, generally understood that he needed to work on some things. And so I think when you look at it in that lens, it’s understandable that that work would be away from the team and he’s been working out. He’s still training and keeping himself in shape. But, you know this, we took this very seriously in terms what’s happened over the last year, the anger management stuff. Again, this is not just, ‘Let’s ice your ankle every day until it gets better.’ That’s a different deal. Draymond has needed the space to be away in order to work on that.”
You mentioned yesterday in your pregame comments that there hasn’t been a ton of back-and-forth conversation with Draymond, have you gotten a sense as to where he is in his treatment or in his process, shall we say, as it pertains to when he might be able to come back and start resuming some activity with the team?
“Well, he’s in good spirits. We’ve been texting and he’s doing great. The league has to decide when they’re going to lift the suspension. And I don’t know when that will be, frankly. For me, I’ve got enough to think about and worry about each day, preparing game plans, getting ready for the next opponent. So I’m not even thinking about it until the league lifts the suspension, and we’ll just keep carrying on with our work.”
Are they in contact with you on that? Like, do you get any guidance at all about a timeline?
“Mike Dunleavy is kind of handling that and they’re going through their process and protocol with Draymond and with Mike. So they’re dealing with that. I’m coaching the team, so it’s nothing to report at this point.”
Is there a chance this goes way longer than anyone was thinking? Is there a chance that Draymond’s not going to be back this year?
“No. I mean, I don’t know that there was ever any timeline given. When someone is suspended indefinitely, that just means they’re suspended indefinitely. There was never a timeframe given. And we’re just going along with the process and, as I said, I’m busy with the team and Draymond’s working on his stuff and the league will work with us and we’ll see where it all goes.”
Has this changed the organizational feelings about Draymond Green in any way? I know there’s disappointment and frustration in the frequency of incidents. But in a more general global sense, has this changed or soured the relationship between the two at all?
“No, no. I mean, I, we have so much history, Draymond and I, this is ten years for us since we’ve been together. And as far as the organization, Joe Lacob and Draymond have been together 12 years now. We’ve been through so much together, ups and downs, and we love Draymond and it’s a great relationship. Obviously, what’s happened over the last year has been disappointing and we are really counting on Draymond to make some strides with this stuff, and we’re confident that he will be able to and that he’ll be and play at a high level.”
Coach, I’m mindful of a couple of things that you’ve said to us, even in recent weeks, I can remember at the start of the year, you really liked this roster. You’ve also said even today, right now, this is who we are. And Mike Dunleavy said that, by about mid-January, it would be time to start assessing things. Do you still feel the same way about the roster and what is the potential openness to adjustments in the next five weeks?
“Yeah, I do still feel the same way. And I think we are going to be better. And I think what’s been tricky is, between the suspensions and then some of the struggles early on for Wiggs and Klay, we just haven’t hit our stride. We haven’t had that couple of weeks where everybody kind of started playing well together, and found a rhythm and found rotations. And so it’s been a mixed bag for sure. But I still believe that both Klay and Wiggs have played way better here the last couple of weeks. I think it’s in us to be a really good team. I believe that and that’s my job as coach is to keep us moving forward through all the choppy waters and get to that point where we can hit our stride and play our best.”
How do you help Wiggs continue to get over those struggles, maybe get back in the starting lineup and get back to the place where he was, Steve, about a year-and-a-half ago, where he was a 34-35 minute-a-night guy and a real impactful player, as opposed to he’s kind of been relegated to being a seventh man?
“Well, I think you’ve seen strides here the last couple of weeks. He’s really playing well, he’s shooting the ball much better, he’s more aggressive, he looks more athletic, more bouncy to me. So I think he’s on the right track and I think his minutes are going to go up.”
Coach, we probably should have jumped this at the beginning, would love an update on Gary Payton II.
“Well, we won’t have an update until tomorrow. I know he has been getting imaging today. I haven’t heard anything yet, so we’ll have an update tomorrow, but it’s not looking like something that’s going to be a matter of days. I mean, it’s going to be longer than that. And unfortunately for Gary, I mean, two games, he gets back from that long layoff for the calf and two games later he gets injured again. So I feel terrible for Gary.”
Coach, it’s interesting to hear you talk about sort of the disruptions you’ve experienced and how that’s affected your play. So what do you think about this? Do you guys feel like you know kind of what your identity is right now?
“Well, if you look at the numbers, over the last 10 games, we’re third in the league in offense, so we’re trending in a really good direction in that regard. Unfortunately, we’re 25th in defense. Before that, we were sort of middle of the pack in both areas. And when you add all that together, you’ve got our record, right? So I mean, you know that from Bill Parcells: when you are what your record says you are. So we’re seeing all this and we’re examining everything. Obviously, we watch the tape every day, but we’re looking at the numbers and what we’re really searching for is the best two-way lineups we can find and that’s not an easy thing. The best teams in the league are Top Five in offense and defense, or at least Top 10. And that’s what we were for almost a decade, here. So that’s the challenge right now is finding lineups that can be really good at both ends. And we haven’t been able to find that yet.”
What do you do defensively now without GP2 and Draymond still suspended. Is Moses Moody, a player that now gets an increased role as a guy who potentially can help you as a two-way player?
“He’s always a possibility. And right now he’s out of the mix because of the way that we’ve decided to go with rotations and certain combinations we’re looking at. That’s the biggest thing for us is, we see patterns on tape and analytically, like certain combinations we want to try to get to and certain combinations we want to avoid. And so when you try certain lineups, that leaves certain people out, and then maybe you try something different. So we understand. We’ve been searching, and that’s what you have to do. When you’re .500, you’ve gotta search. You’ve gotta find something that clicks. And so unfortunately for Moses right now, we’re looking at some other combinations, but I know him well. He’s an unbelievable young guy. He’s got great character, great work ethic, and he’ll find his way back into the rotation soon.”
Coach, I know you answer this a lot this year about the rotation and minutes and and you’ve talked about math and, look, guys want to play. That’s obvious. Jonathan Kuminga has said some things after games, sort of suggesting it’s out of his hands. I wonder with this particular group, how are you handling that? How do you talk to young players about minutes?
“I’m just really honest with them. That’s the only way it works. You just lay it out there and same thing that I’m saying to you guys, I say to our guys, ‘Oh, this right now, that out of the rotation.’ So I tell him that. I tell him, ‘Hey, we’re going to look at these combinations, have to do this instead and stay ready and your chance is going to come back around. And I have these conversations with my players every single day. That’s the job and we have great guys. That’s the main thing and yes, they’re frustrated when they don’t play. They should be. I don’t have any problem with guys being frustrated, as long as they keep working and as long as they keep supporting the team and that’s what our guys do.”
Steve, I can’t help but think to myself to ask you how you’re doing, because this is the last year of your contract and I know you’re very much a stay-in-the-moment guy, but do you think a lot about your status and what your plans are and whether or not you want to keep grinding away at all of the on court stuff and the off court drama as well?
“Yeah. this? I love what I do, guys. I mean, every year is different and you don’t get to win the championship every season, obviously. But every season is different. And this year has been challenging for sure. But I love it. I love going to work every day. I love the camaraderie that exists in that building, love seeing my fellow coaches, love seeing all the players. So, yeah, I want to keep doing this. If you’re lucky enough to wake up and be excited about what you’re doing every day, you should probably keep doing it. So that’s my plan.”
Coach, you’ve maintained every time that subject comes up that you want to be here and you have zero worries, but maybe you can understand this, and I’ll speak just for me, but I think a lot of fans are starting to get a Bob Myers feel about the contract situation in terms of like why it’s still out there.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s just normal business. This is how these things go. Everyone wants to have a feel for where things are and you know where the team is and where all the questions that exist. I have to be assessed from both sides. And then obviously the money is in the years and all that stuff. It’s all just normal business stuff. So as I said, I’m not alarmed at all. It’s more about just finding common ground and getting it done. And then I’m confident that will happen.”
Steve, I know Joe Lacob a little bit. You want me to make a call on your behalf?
“I’m good. I talked to Joe today. We had a great conversation and we’re lucky here. When you think about what this organization has done over the last, whatever, 15 years since Joe bought the team, it’s incredible. It’s amazing. And the resources he provides for this team and for our organization, the quality of people he’s brought in, pretty incredible. So this is a great place to work. Great place to live. Everybody with the Warriors, we all know how lucky we are.”
Coach, is there kind of a mental thing about getting back above .500? I know that all the games matter, but another opportunity over these next few days to kind of get back above .500. How much does that matter to the guys right now?
Yeah, I mean, we briefly got to that point the other day. And then flip back below. It’d be nice to get back above .500. But regardless, it’s really about the consistency of our play and hitting our markers, the areas where we’ve gotta improve. Transition defense has not been great this year. That’s something we’ve been harping on, defending without fouling. You guys hear that all the time. The one thing we have been doing a great job on is taking care of over the last ten. We’re averaging 13 turnovers a game, which is top ten of the league. So we’re making some strides, but we gotta put it all together. And because almost every game that we play goes down to the wire – we’ve played more close games than any team in the league. So we gotta win more games in the margins with the detailed stuff. And that’s what we’re harping on.”
ORL-GSW BEHIND-THE-SCENES
👆 Warriors-Magic in-arena: Steph Curry 3+1, Star Wars Night; Dallas: Klay frustrated; Luka x ball boy
👆 Kerr on Draymond, Steph Curry practice & pregame workouts, Steve on Klay & starting lineup; GP2; CP3
POSTGAME ORL-GSW
You guys came back from Denver and figuring a seven-game homestand I know there was a sense that, ‘Okay, now is the time to sort of get some momentum going,’ lose the first two. How important was it to come out tonight and take this thing?
STEPHEN CURRY POSTGAME ORL-GSW: “Every game is important for us during this stretch and to show a little resiliency after the last two games we’ve had. Orlando’s been playing great. They’re very physical and it’s been kind of our weakness, trying not to foul and give up offensive rebounds and all those things. And after the first quarter, we dug in and executed and just played with a great competitive spirit and we needed it bad. So, definitely a great win. It’s always nice to kind of settle the storm a little bit, get back on the right track. Now you gotta, like we always say, you gotta do something about it to kind of back it up. So we gave ourselves a good opportunity to do that playing against Denver on Thursday.”
Looked like there were a couple of segments in the game when you really kind of mostly on-ball, just decided you’re going, okay, you’re going to do what needs to be done. Was there a certain mindset that you carried through that, at parts of the game?
“It’s always about just taking what the defense gives you, when you can be aggressive. I think from really the start of the game, I kind of saw the pictures really well on where help-outs were going to be and when I had the ball, mostly the top of the key, being able to get downhill into the paint, and then kind of soften the defense up. We got the ball moving a couple of times where I got some open catch-and-shoot looks. And once we stopped fouling, we got the tempo where we wanted it, playing in transition, and that always helps us kind of create good momentum. So, I thrive in those types of situations.”
Steph, speaking of momentum, how much is it going to affect you guys, maybe if GP2 is out for any length of time, as he left with a hamstring strain and don’t know his status, of course?
“I just feel bad for him because, ever since last year, he’s been working really hard to get his body where it needs to be, to play the way that he wants to play and impact the game the way that he can. And it’s just unfortunate these injuries pop up that take his availability away. So, just thinking about it. Him and the rehab process. I don’t know any of the details of where he’s at, but hopefully he gets back soon and can just play for a sustained amount of time to really show how he impacts our team on both ends of the floor. You saw it tonight. Just an energy boost and he changed the game for us. So, I know he loves to be out there. I just feel bad for him.”
Steph, you mentioned getting into the paint. How conscious and crucial was it? You missed your first few threes, but then you had three or four nice twos in a row, kind of mid-range, and it seemed like that kind of sprung you and the team.
“Yeah, again, it’s just taking what the defense gives you. Like, it’s very rare when I have more two-point shots than three-point shots. So that’s just kind of, again, just trying to settle in, not forcing stuff. I think the last maybe three games, there’s been times where I’ve pressed a little bit. That’s why I said I need to play better in those stretches, where even if it’s not me getting the shot, just making the right decisions. Obviously, I didn’t shoot the ball great when I did have decent looks. But, again, just keeping things simple. And it was nice to get a little bit of flow and get a little bit of momentum on our side. And then we capitalized on it in the second half, too. So, everything kind of worked in our favor that way.”
What do you think of the new starting lineup and really kind of just more the whole reconfigured rotation this time around?
“I know we’re going to keep experimenting because there hasn’t been one look that’s worked consistently. And that’s just the situation we’ve been in all year. It was not pretty for the first three minutes tonight, but then we responded pretty well. I know there was a couple subs that came in, but we responded well to win that first quarter, which is huge. We haven’t won many first quarters over the course of the first 30, whatever games. So it’s on us to play better, to play more physical, to stop fouling, give up offensive rebounds. The simple things that even if you’re outmatched size-wise, like, you can play physical and do something about it. We had a really soft start tonight. So the challenge is to stay locked in no matter what five-man kind of rotation Coach puts out there. We’re all gonna get an opportunity. And until we truly find an identity of what works, that’s the challenge for our team right now.”
What’s your swing of emotions at the end of the first half when you get the and-one three? But then you guys obviously go up the –
“I gave up that, you can put that on me there (knowing that Slater is asking about the open three by Gary Harris before the halftime buzzer, audience members laugh). I definitely did that. I mean, that’s the simple things that we haven’t done well to execute. And honestly, those could be, kind of swing possessions that change the momentum. Coach McKillop used to call it, ‘Big Mo,’ going into halftime, and that was a tough break that I lost Gary in transition, not knowing how much time was left. Thankfully, we responded and didn’t affect us in the second half, but those are the things from a focus and execution standpoint that I gotta get better at. We all gotta get better at it if we’re going to take that next leap as a team.”
Steph, what are your thoughts on Banchero? And is he starting to become one of the notable players in the league?
“I mean, he’s been playing great all year. I think he’s evolved, too. He just seems like he’s playing way more patient knowing he can get a – he’s such a physical player. Him and Franz Wagner, like, they can pretty much get wherever they want. It’s just a matter of them making it or missing it just because they’re that physical and skilled with the ball. But they’ve both taken a leap, and that’s reflective in their record. And yeah, two young guys are starting to figure it out and they’re tough. It’s not really gonna be a one-on-one type of situation. You gotta have all five guys ready to defend because they’re kind of becoming game-changers on that front. So they got a good thing going for some young guys that are running the team.”
JAMAHL MOSELY POSTGAME ORL-GSW: I think, just some stuff didn’t go our way. I thought we fought really hard. played together. they made some shots. We missed some shots. Some calls went their way. Some calls didn’t go our way. So sometimes it’s just how it goes. turnovers against different teams can mean different things.
But how much does a team like that make you pay when you turn the ball over? Yeah, I mean, they got some guys over there who, you can’t just give them extra opportunities because they’ll take advantage and that’s what happened tonight. So he’s gotta take it, learn from it and we gotta play another good team tomorrow.
So we gotta be ready against that team that there can be shooting disparities. Did you like the looks that you guys were getting overall, man? I mean, I don’t know how many in and outs we shot in the night, but I know I shot like four. I know a couple other guys did so. that’s tough because those are good looks.
Those are good shots that are right there about to go in and sometimes that’s just how it works out. So, you can’t get discouraged. You gotta keep shooting, because I mean, those are all great shots. We didn’t have the chance to ask you this after the other night’s game, but when you hear guys like KD and Brad Beal speak very highly as, as they did of you and in Franz after the game in Phoenix, your coach constantly pushing you for, for you for all star, just what, what did those comments mean for you?
They mean a lot, just. gain and respect from your peers. you like to see that, like to hear that, it’s just a testament, to the work that we do, and how we, how we play together and how hard we play. Brad, Katie, rest of those guys, they, they’ve done stuff that, that we want to do and those guys are well established in the league.
So, we’re the next, next, we’re the future, we’re coming up. So, getting their stamp is, is always a great. You’ll have another contest against a team who plays in a similar fashion tomorrow in Sacramento. Just how much can you take the lessons from tonight and apply them to that matchup tomorrow?
Yeah, I think turnover is going to be a big thing, taking care of the ball. not giving them transition opportunities is going to be huge. they get out and run, they really shoot the ball. So, I think take care of the ball. And then, just doing what we do, attacking their paint, defending.
obviously they got a lot of weapons, so. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited. Franz, as you look at tonight’s contest, what did you see as the difference for the outcome? I thought it was just the fourth quarter and a little bit of the third. for the most part, we did a solid job of defending three point line.
Obviously, Steph super hard to guard and hit a couple of tough ones, but, I think at the end they got a couple of bad cuts. I think overall in the game we probably had too many turnovers. I haven’t looked at the, the stats or anything like that. But, Yeah, against good teams, those are the small, small things that’ll, yeah, be the game.
you touched on it a little bit there, but turnover against different teams can mean different things. How much do they as a team can really make you pay for giving the ball away? Yeah, yeah, they’re super tough to guard in transition, obviously. Trying to find all their shooters. I think I got guys that know how to play and cut and play off of that.
So, um That’s even harder in transition than in a half court. So not just turnovers, but also bad shots But honestly for the most part, I thought we played a solid game Like I said a couple errors that we gotta improve on. Yeah, you know a lot of times when teams play them there is a shooting disparity But did you like the looks that you guys were getting as a group?
Yeah, I think That’s what I’m saying. I think it’s sometimes tough to you look back on the game, you feel like stuff isn’t working, but I think, I think over the last couple of games, we’re getting good looks and we’re getting the looks that we’re trying to take. So, we just gotta stay with it.
And like I said, clean up some of those turnovers and I think that’ll make a huge difference. you’ll prep for a Sacramento team tomorrow that, plays in a, in a similar fashion. How much can you take the lessons from tonight and apply them to Sacramento? Yeah, very similar obviously, super fast paced, a lot of shooting, a lot of off ball screening, so, It’ll be same, same type of effort required tomorrow.
mentally and physically, I think it’s tough to play guys like that, so, we gotta be ready tomorrow.
Congratulations on opening a new year with a victory at home. You guys had experienced a lot of tough losses in the recent games, but you guys were able to put it out tonight. What is the difference-maker today? What is emphasized on both ends, particularly in the final quarter?
KLAY THOMPSON POSTGAME WITH ESPN CHINA: “Well, just to get great looks and limit them from getting to the rim. And then Steph was magical, of course, with his shot-making. Our defense was very solid in that fourth quarter and we had to build on that and look to build another win streak because we desperately need it.”
Everybody knows Captain Klay never shot with any hesitation and you did great night. So how were you, and you always showed some patience tonight, so how were you able to fine-tune your shooting during the game and how do you feel where you are right now?
“I feel really good, I just decided to relax; I had a few bad games shooting the ball, so I decided, look, just relax and have fun. Don’t worry about made or missed shots, just play your hardest on both ends and it’ll all work out. It’s such a long season, there’s no need to get discouraged; it’s just about staying the course and having fun while doing that.”
Obviously you guys set a great tone for the new year, what are some other puzzle pieces that you think this team needs in order to push into a higher standing in this league?
“We need our guy Draymond back, obviously, but we’re going to hold it down until he gets back. And other than that, we just gotta stay strong and try. We’re gonna try and win as many home games as we can and take the same mojo on the road. But we got a lot of great basketball ahead of us. I truly believe that.”
You got a lot of trust from China, don’t worry about it.
“Oh, thank you. Love y’all.”
Klay maybe something that’s kind of obvious, but how much-needed was this win tonight for you guys?
KLAY THOMPSON POSTGAME ORL-GSW: “Yeah, I needed that. We needed that bad because … three-game losing streak. Yeah, it wasn’t fun. So that was a really important win for us.”
What do you kind of like about how you guys won this game?
“I liked that Steph bailed us out there when we were up four, hit that step back. That was ridiculous. And I liked that there was a balanced scoring effort. I mean, seeing all five starters in double-digits, it’s always a good sign. And I also liked the shots we took. We shot a very efficient percentage, so our defense, we stuck to the game plan very well. And those are things I liked.”
You dunked. How’d that feel?
“That felt amazing. I will never take for granted dunking a basketball, period, doesn’t even have to be in the NBA. It could just be in the driveway. So that felt really good. It felt really good. Can’t relate, Raymond.”
How many times have you done since you’ve been back?
“Shoot. I have a few. I don’t dunk with as much frequency as I used to, but there’s just things you have to accept as an athlete. Sometimes as time goes on, you might not have the same bounce you once did, but you just gotta learn how to still be an effective player and I’m still doing that and yeah, it felt great. I’ve had a fair share of dunks. So I remember dunking on two people when I came back. So it counted for something.”
When you guys came back from Denver, I know there’s a lot of talk about, ‘Okay, we’re home now, let’s try and straighten ourselves out.’ Then you lose the first two. So yeah, to get this win obviously is huge. Do you think it can be sort of a momentum kickstart for you guys?
“Absolutely. We’re very much looking forward to the Denver game. They’ve had our number the last two outings, so it’s gonna be nice to see a great team and try and change that outcome, and I know we’re all eager to get to that game and build a win streak here.”
How frustrating is it just to see Gary go down again with that hamstring? And have you gotten a chance to chat with him in the training room?
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but it’s very frustrating because we know how much Gary means to this team and how great of a player he really is. He’s a champ. I mean, he was a very important part of that team and still is. And he just relieved so much pressure from us as far as guarding. He’s such a great on-ball defender and finisher at the rim. I’m going to miss him, but we want him to be healthy. That matters most.”
Steve kind of had a long quote last game, post game, just about the collective grit of the team, but everyone kind of needed to row in one direction. How do you feel this team’s kind of chemistry is, in general, vibing, as you guys kind of wade through this at 16-17?
“I think we have great potential, and I think we’re going to hit another level. We’ve had different lineups, but I know we have the ability to get to another place of being really good. So just about staying the course and having the right mindset going into each game. And I’m excited. I mean, I’m excited for this homestand. I’m excited. I played better tonight. I look forward to building on it.”
You mentioned playing better. What was the difference tonight? I know your last game against Dallas, I think it was 1-of-11 from the field –
“That’s not very good.”
– Why the difference tonight versus the last game?
“I think just being patient, I’m not getting too down on myself when I got three early fouls and just staying patient throughout the game. I think I only had two shot attempts in the first half, so the ball is eventually going to find me and just look forward to playing with that confidence for the rest of the season and realizing that I can be a threat, just pulling other defenders away and making shots, obviously, but getting guys open and making great plays.”
What’s foul trouble like for you? It seems pretty rare in your career when you kind of sink into some foul trouble.
“Yeah, it’s just some boneheaded plays by myself and can’t be doing that to myself. I want to have a good night out there. So, yeah, I mean, that was very uncharacteristic of me.”
Steve was saying before the game that you’re a perfectionist. And that sometimes you get down on yourself when you’re not as good as you want to be. How do you find that balance between understanding that perfection is not really reasonable and at the same time staying positive about what you can do even when things are going bad?
“Well, Steve and I had actually a great conversation yesterday and that helped me relax a lot. Sometimes I forget just how successful and how lucky I’ve been, to be a part of championship teams and All-Star games and gold medals. And when you want to get back to that level so badly, you could kind of get in your own way. Rather than forcing it. We had a conversation about just enjoying this last chapter of my career and how lucky I truly am to still be playing this game. And do it at a high level. And being a better mentor for the young guys, lead by example, having my energy right every game. And he helped me realize I do have negative energy and how that affects the team in a poor manner. So we had a great conversation that just helped me change my whole mindset and forget about shooting splits or points per game or All-Star games and just to enjoy being in this Warriors uniform. And appreciate what we built because it’s such a rare opportunity for any professional athlete to be a part of so much success and to try and pass that torch to the younger guys and keep this thing going. (Notices no more questions:) Nice. (Throws paper airplane:) Sorry, bro.”
This one tonight. What did you see as a difference in the second half of the Warriors?
JAMAHL MOSELY: “I think there was a big portion of our timely turnovers that led to some big-time runs for them. We had it at six a few times. We turned it over. They came up with a lot of those 50-50 hustle plays, shots at the end of the shot clock. But again, our guys will, and their fight to stay poised down the stretch, I was very proud of, but you have to give Golden State a ton of credit for how hard they played and they have an elite shot-maker and Hall-of-Fame player in Steph Curry. And that’s what we got.”
Yeah, you touched on it a little bit there, but turnovers can have different impact against different teams, but against this team, how much can they really impact the outcome?
“Well, it energized them, it went from a six to a nine quickly. And I think those are things that we have to be smarter and better for, but again, to their credit, they did turn us over at the most – it wasn’t an opportune time for us, but it fueled their break, allowed the crowd to get into the game a little bit more. But our guys kept a level of poise that we continue to ask them to do as we grow and move forward with this. but you gotta give Golden State a ton of credit for the way in which they played.”
When you look at the shots tonight, did you like the look your group was getting? And obviously they can make shooting disparity look a lot different.
“I think we got a lot of great looks. Our guys stepped into their shots with confidence, which is what we want them to continue to do. I thought we did a fantastic job getting to the basket; there were a lot of hands and we just have to learn how to play through and not worry about whether we get the call or not. We just have to continue to play through. But I love the way in which we attacked the basket.”
When you look at Franz and Paolo, it seems like every night they’re having a big night or strong performances over this stretch. How much do you continue to be impressed? What does it mean to you that they impact the game regardless of whether or not shots are going in?
“I’ll keep saying it. That’s why they are both All-Stars to me. They are trying to make those around them better. They show up the right way, trying to play the right way each and every single night, knowing that the defenses are tilted towards them, and they continue to play, trying to make their teammates better as well. And then they’re playing as hard as they can on both ends, which is what we’ve asked each individual on this team to do.”
And then when you look at tomorrow night’s matchup (vs Sacramento), just how much is another opportunity for your group to continue to grow as you prepare for the game?
“It’s a great opportunity. And this is a great team that we just played tonight to be able to use the same formula. They have a lot of the same things going with them, the speed, the pace of the game, the offensive rebounding, the three-point shooting. All of those things are lessons we can take from tonight to have to be able to carry over for tomorrow. guys.”
Hamstring strain on Gary, but does he need any more imaging or any more information?
STEVE KERR POSTGAME ORL-GSW: “I don’t know anything.”
Even with no further information, just how big of a blow and disappointing is it for him personally to just come back?
“Yeah, I feel bad for him more than anything, feel bad for us too, but mainly for him. He’s been out whatever it is, four or five weeks. He worked hard to get back to this point. He makes such a big impact for us. So, fingers crossed that he’s not out for too long.”
I think maybe Steph got out of the slump tonight a little bit. What do you think about his performance tonight?
“Steph was amazing, but Steph is always amazing. Even when he doesn’t score 36 points, the attention he draws defensively, what he does to an opposing defense, the way he opens up the floor, he’s a remarkable player and really, really got himself going on a night when we needed it.”
It looked like there were a couple of turning points in the game, one in the second quarter and then later in the third quarter. What did you see happening during those key moments?
“Well, we started rebounding in the second half. They had 13 offensive boards in the first half and only three in the second half. So I thought our work on the glass was much better. I think for the most part we defended without fouling, so the game could flow for us, and we took care of the ball. Only 12 turnovers for us. And I thought a lot of guys came in and played really well. Loon was fantastic, plus-10 and obviously closed the game. He’s so good defensively and just I thought, Wiggs, Brandin, our bench came in, really did a good job.”
What do you think of Kuminga, overall, especially guarding some of their bigger wings?
“Yeah, I thought JK had a nice game. He played hard. He wasn’t into the ball enough in the first half, and Wagner was kind of getting downhill, and I thought his defense picked up and was better in the second half. And then, JK gives us those buckets around the hoop. Those are big for us. We don’t score easily around the basket all the time. And so when he can get to the hoop, get to the foul line, get us easy buckets, it’s really important for us. So I thought he played a really good game.”
Steph wasn’t shooting well from three. Most of the first half. I think the first one he made was that one at the end, but it seemed like he consciously found his way to get 15-footers, 12-footers to get going. How sort of important and underrated a part of his game is that, because he could have just kept shooting threes, figuring they go in at some point?
“Well, he’s the greatest shooter of all-time for a reason. He can shoot any shot from anywhere. I always look at guys who are good mid-range shooters and also good three-point shooters. Those are the best shooters in the world. They’re the ones who, they have that radar that can translate whether it’s a 17-footer, a 13-footer at 28-footer. Those are the guys with the best hands and have the best touch. This is a huge team, Orlando, and you’re not going to get to the rim and finish. And so Steph knew coming into the game, just looking at the tape, that he was gonna have to pull up and make some mid-rangers. And he did a great job of that.”
What did you think of how Klay did, especially being in foul trouble in the second half?
“Yeah, I mean, after the foul trouble, I think he only played nine minutes in the first half and I thought he was excellent in the second half, did a good job guarding Banchero, which is a really tough matchup for anybody. And Klay’s save from underneath our basket, looked like the ball was going out of bounds play. Trayce came over and blocked the shot. Looked like it was going to go out of bounds, and he saved it. We got a bucket at the other end, and I thought that was the biggest play of the game.”
You guys talked about maybe getting some momentum started with this homestand. You lose the first couple games here. What do you want to take from this game to try and get some momentum at this point and just want the guys to do?
“Yeah, I just want them to breathe a little bit. And when you lose a few and everyone’s anxious, you press a little bit. I just want them to play with urgency, but no anxiety. We gotta settle in and just be able to rely on execution. All the little details we talk about, but at the same time be loose and confident and free. And so we need to take that next step, but tonight was a really good win against a really good team and I’m very proud of the guys.”
You guys gave up that corner three to close the first half, and yeah, kind of a similar bucket to end the third quarter. Are those, when you talk about like the little details, is that the type of position, small stuff you really feel like you need to clean up still?
“Yeah, yeah. I mean, those are key plays. We got a tough break at the end of the third quarter. Dario had a little jump hook that went in and out. Wagner made a great play in transition, but the one at the end of the half, Steph knew he came too far off of Gary Harris. and he needs to stay with him in the corner. and Gary had Wagner at half court and gotta make Wagner try to score, get through Gary to score and not give them a wide open shot. So, there’s a few plays here and there like that. But the thing I like tonight, we just competed. Everybody was connected and together and pulling for each other. The bench was great. That’s what it’s gotta feel like.”
You kind of addressed this earlier, but, how important was this? I mean, it’s only three straight losses, but it felt like things were going in the wrong direction.
“They were, they were. So we needed to right the ship. So, like I said, good win. And we gotta back it up and go get another one.”
Chris, when you guys came in after losing to Denver, there was a sense that, okay, you have seven games in a row at home, maybe a good chance to kind of catch yourselves and get some momentum going. Then you lose the first two. How big was it to try and make sure that this didn’t happen tonight, another loss?
CHRIS PAUL: “It was huge. We’ve been struggling to get wins. Yeah. And it’s hard to win in this league. You know what I mean? That team’s a young team, well coached. They’ve been playing hard all season long so this was a good win for us.”
You’ve made 13 threes the last four games, shooting them a bit more, too. Are you being actively wanting of trying to shoot it more or is it just more that looks are presenting themselves?
“Probably more looks last game. They was helping off and I was open tonight. Most of them was at the shot clock. You know what I mean? So, just trying to find the opportunities to be a scorer, too.”
How much better does the shot feel than maybe a few weeks ago?
“It ain’t never felt bad. Yeah, I’ve been a shooter my whole life. You know what I mean? So, if it don’t go in, I, still, you gotta keep shooting.”
Is there any body language or look in Steph’s eyes you see when he sort of moves into another level? It seemed like at times tonight, he was even more determined than usual or just locked in, I guess.
“No, he played the same way. You know what I mean? But obviously getting them good looks or whatnot. And the energy of the team changes when we get stops and you’re able to get out in transition and when shots go in, especially for a shooter or something like that, and a scorer like Steph, once you make a couple now, it’s trouble because now you’re going to try to jam him up and he’s going to drive or whatnot. Just keep making the right play.”
You guys have talked about issues defensively, connecting defensively. Did you see any progress on that front today?
“A little bit here and there, still in spurts, but we still gotta be better rebounding. Still get even more connected defensively. We, like you said, we have good spurts, but we gotta put in a full game.”
GP2 left this game with a hamstring injury, and he’s had just the way that injuries hit him, it seems kind of relentless. He can’t get any momentum. Unfortunately, it’s random. What do you think about, getting knocked back by these injuries?
“It’s tough, man. I gotta go down and check on G because he’s such a big part of our team. People may not realize it, but his energy is consistent every day, every practice, every game or whatnot. So him coming back to our team has been huge for us. So, I hope what it is isn’t something that’s going to take a long time or whatnot. But I think for him, it’s gonna be about just getting as healthy as possible. You know how injuries can be extremely frustrating and come at all the wrong times. There’s never a good time for an injury, obviously.”
What kind of advice do you have for him, like weathering these ups and downs when he can’t get momentum?
“Advice? I don’t know. I mean, he knows nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. You know what I mean? You just gotta take your time and put yourself first, but he’s a competitor. I know how bad he wants to play and how hard he’s been working to get back out there. So we’ll see what happens. But that’s unfortunate for a guy like GP who works as hard as he does.”
PRACTICE, DAY BEFORE ORL-GSW
How did it feel to get back out there after about a month?
GARY PAYTON II, DAY BEFORE ORL-GSW: “Like it always feels when I get back from rehab, unfortunately. But pretty good, actually. Get out there. Get to hit some people. Foul some people. Feel good.”
There was one sort of sequence where you, I think you blocked Luka. How did that feel? Was that sort of just back in the swing?
“Yeah, just doing my job. Get out, try to get layups, get stops, repeat.”
Gary, how are you feeling about the team right now? You guys are on a little bit of a losing streak. How important is tomorrow’s game coming up and the rest of the homestand?
“I think every game from here on out is probably important. We gotta get back to doing winning ways, winning ways, doing things the right way, doing simple things before it’s too late. So we gotta pick and choose when we want to come back with the connectivity and get back to doing things for each other.”
Gary, everybody, media, fans, everybody has their own opinion on the quick fix, what you guys could do. Do you really think you guys are that far off? Or do you think things are a lot closer to turning around than maybe going to change?
“Most people’s perception, it’s really not about anybody outside this locker room. We know what we gotta do. We know what it takes within the locker room to do what we gotta do to win games and make it easier for ourselves to put ourselves in position to win games. And I always gotta get back to that, like I said, get back to playing for one another, get back to having our trust on both sides of the ball.”
You mentioned get back to playing for each other. Do you feel like you guys are getting away from that? Did you sense that even when you weren’t playing?
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you can see it on the court, is just a disconnect that we have, especially on the defensive end. And I think a little bit our offense is predicated on our defense, which should be the opposite way around. So if we just get back to keeping it simple and offense and defense just coming out with first, second and third efforts, and just using our brains while we play, I think we’ll turn things around sooner than we expected.”
In your absence you’ve seen other guys step up and get some playing time, are you seeing development that you like to see, like Brandin and Trayce, guys getting more playing time and being able to contribute?
“Absolutely. We’ve been talking about this from the beginning of the season. Just from the summer, we’ve seen that we’ve got guys, young guys, that are learning quickly and producing fast. So we’re pretty deep on our bench. So, like I said, if next man’s up — we had a couple of guys go down, including myself, and we had the young guys come in, step in and really, they always been ready. Ready to go when the number’s called. Moses has been playing phenomenal, when he gets his his number called, Brandin Trayce, they’re just coming in and being ready when called upon … the rest of our guys, our group, we gotta come out and do the same and be ready, regardless of when Steve throws us in or takes us out.”
Andrew Wiggins, his three point attempts are in half compared to last year. Is that something that is of concern to you guys or something that you hope to that can go up?
STEVE KERR: “I mean, I don’t — it’s not a number I’m concerned about. He’s also playing less than he did a year ago and remember, he missed 50 games, whatever it was. So those numbers are mainly based on the first 30 games of the season and that group that he played with was really in sync at that time. So this is a different team. My main thing watching Wiggs is that he’s really coming around. He’s coming into his own. You can see it on the floor. You can see it on the practice floor, his energy, focus. He looks great and I’m really excited that he’s rounding into form and it looks like his old self to me out there.”
I guess not to go too deep into this, but is the hope that you guys don’t really care if he takes more threes, or is that something that you think would open up the offense a little more?
“I haven’t talked to him about it and I don’t plan to. I mean, I think if we can find our team, we can find the rotation that clicks if we can find a two-way group, or two-way combinations and really make some strides. I think the numbers just kind of take care of themselves.”
Steve, kind of following up on your comments from the other night postgame when you said the team was missing that grit and everything. Have you had that conversation with the players and, if you did, what was their kind of response when you did talk about it?
“That’s none of your business (smiles). I mean, yeah, of course, of course. We have those conversations and so not anything I want to share publicly, but we address everything that happens within this team. So it’s, I have to pick my times to say certain things, to not say certain things. I felt like it was a good time to say that publicly and because we have to turn the corner in that regard, 32 games in and then that’s the focus.”
Steve, Steph has said a couple times that he views New Year’s Day as a really important kind of marker in the season. Do you agree with that? Why do you think it’s an important day in terms of evaluating the team? And that being said, how do you feel about where you guys are right now?
“Yeah, I think so. I think it’s a good marker. 32 games in or you’re not quite at the halfway point, but you have a pretty good sense of where you stand amongst the league. And so, we are not where we want to be. But I also don’t think we’re that far off. So I know the areas we have to improve in, both on the floor and intangibly, and I have a lot of confidence that we can figure it out together and become the team that we expected coming into the year.”
Steve, Moses has always been like a really good player for you when he’s been given minutes. But given that this point of his career, how do you try to utilize him best for you?
“Well, Moses right now is the victim of our depth as a team, as a roster. I’ve said it many times publicly. I think we have 13 guys who could all be in the rotation. Cory Joseph, every time I put him out there has played really well. Obviously, he’s got Hall-of-Fame point guards ahead of him, so it’s tough to play three guards. But when Cory’s in the rotation, I feel great. When Moses is in the rotation, I feel great. When you go down the list, I feel confident that 13 guys could be in the rotation. You can only play nine or 10. That’s the reality. So we’re trying to find different combinations. One player, like Gary coming in, has an effect, a domino effect on the entire rotation. So now you’re mixing and matching. So at different times this year, Moses has been out of the rotation, JK’s been out of the rotation, Gary’s been out. And because we haven’t found consistency, we’re going to continue to experiment. Right now, Moses is out, but I know the way he carries himself, and he’s going to find his way back in.”
Do you find that kind of puzzling in a way that it’s taken this long, you’re into a new year and you’re still trying to figure out your team’s identity and whose roles are what?
“Yeah, I expected this to be a really good team. And I still think we can be a good team. I think there have been a lot of circumstances that have led us to this point. And they are what they are. And what I’ve learned as a coach is every year is different. Every year you get hit with surprises and whether it’s an injury, a suspension, whatever it is, absences like Wiggs last year, stuff just happens. And the whole point of coaching is to help guide the group through that. And that’s what my staff and I are trying to do now.”
I don’t know how generous you’re feeling about this, but the starting lineup that you had last game with Chris and Trayce there. Is that something that you see rolling with for a while?
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not just throwing darts, so every night it’s not like, ‘Hey, what do you think we should do tonight?’ So we’re going to give this a look for sure.”
Orlando’s been playing such good defense and they’re so big, I was gonna ask if you were maybe gonna start Looney. Will Looney see more time this game?
“Yeah, I mean, maybe. Yeah. Again, with 13 very capable players, we have to push the right buttons and keep the guys who aren’t in that rotation engaged and reminding them that their time is coming and it’s their job to stay ready and stay committed. But it’s not easy. It’s not an easy proposition as a player to be out of the loop and then be expected to play well when you get your chance. It’s not easy as a coach when you’ve got only nine slots for 13 worthy players.”
How did you feel when you went back and looked at Trayce’s handling?
“Trayce was great. He handled things really well, followed the game plan well. I think the issue for us in the Dallas game was more, felt to me like we were pressing. We were playing decently throughout, at times, well, but we had real issues transition defense-wise. So that was the number one basketball issue. But I felt like because Dallas was playing well, we started pressing and we had key moments of the game where we either fouled or took a quick shot and you can see by the end of the game, we get it within four or five, two minutes left, but felt like we were chasing the game quite a bit and lost our discipline a little bit. But that’s sometimes what happens when you’re struggling a little bit.”
What can you take away from your first start?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: “Just playing with energy, having guys like Chris Paul, Steph, Klay, like legends being on the same court, starting with them, it’s a blessing and something that when I was little, I never thought of.”
When you look at how you guys have played so far in the last couple games, I know it was better against Dallas, but you see the game coming up tomorrow against the Magic. I don’t want to say must-win, but you would say it’s a nice-to-win type of game that you guys are looking at scenario wise?
“Oh, absolutely. We need to get out of this funk that we’re in. Orlando’s got a great team. They’re long and athletic and we’re gonna have to be on-point on defense on the floor. And so we just gotta keep listening to the coach and what he’s saying and keep grinding it out on the defensive end.”
Brandin said after the game that you guys after the game, you guys had a meeting of sorts, team meeting. What was sort of the takeaways from that?
“Just the biggest takeaways from that was just our energy, really. Just trying to stay positive. Bringing great energy when we’re on the floor because guys feed off of that and if you have negative energy, you can suck the energy out of a team, and so we can’t have that because we’re trying to still win the margins, is another thing that coach says, and that’s a big part of it when you play with great energy. It’s contagious.”
Trayce, Paolo obviously is a big guy, and he’s using his body to his advantage, big-time. How much are you looking forward to that, matching up with him this week?
“He’s a great player. Quite frankly, I don’t know if I’m going to be matched up with him. I might be, but we’ll see when we get to that point. But, great player. He’s really worked on his game a lot. I remember watching him play. I knew he was going to be really, really good and just seeing his game elevate to this level, it’s really special.”
How did you find out that you’re going to start the last game? And what was sort of the difference in your process and getting ready?
“I took it the same as a process. CP actually told me when we were walking out of — I was going to practice the day before that — I was going to start, me and him, and then Coach texting me right before our shootaround. And so that was really cool that it was official. But I just had the same approach, did all the same things that I usually do. But instead, just be mentally ready. And I knew when my name was going to get called, so just always being ready and staying ready.”
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