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00:00Out to the River Islands guest line for Steve Kerr, presented by Great Clips in Sports.
00:04Success is about team effort and the same is true for your hair.
00:07Great Clips, it's going to be great.
00:09Hey coach, how are you tonight?
00:11I'm doing well, how are you guys?
00:13We're doing great.
00:14We've had some fun today because today, I wonder if you know off the top of your head,
00:18do you know what happened 10 years ago today?
00:21Yeah, but only because Raymond Ritter has been talking to me about it for the last six weeks.
00:27So, all right, so let's remind our listeners what happened and then you need to take us through this moment
00:34through your eyes.
00:35Here it is.
00:36They do have a timeout.
00:38Decide not to use it.
00:39Curry, way downtown.
00:40Bang, bang.
00:42Oh, what a shot from Curry with six tenths of a second remaining.
00:48All right, is there any truth to the rumor that you called him over to the huddle after that and
00:52said,
00:52that's a bad shot, Steph.
00:54That's a low percentage look.
00:58No, no truth to the rumor.
01:00Mike, Mike Breen was correct.
01:02We had a timeout and we didn't want to use it because we knew Steph had the ball and a
01:0940 footer for Steph's a good shot.
01:11So, yeah, we let him go.
01:13I mean, you could have drawn up the same thing, I guess, in the timeout.
01:17You could have just called timeout and said, all right, here's what we're going to do.
01:19We're going to have Steph, you know, shoot a 40 footer.
01:22Does he make it so in those moments you are less likely to call timeout?
01:27Yes, yes, 100 percent, because when you call a timeout, the defense has a chance to set up and substitute,
01:35you know,
01:36their best defensive lineup in and talk about what might happen.
01:40And I'm always more prone to let our guys go than than to call a timeout in those situations.
01:47But, you know, anybody but Steph with only five seconds left off of a missed shot like that,
01:53you probably have to call a timeout because you just most people can't make a 40 footer.
01:59But, you know, he's that shot is very, very makeable for him.
02:05And he just loves that moment so much that it's more likely to go in than not.
02:10What do you remember about that game as a whole, Coach?
02:16Well, as I said, you know, Raymond's been reminding me of this.
02:20We had to do a whole interview on it.
02:24Like everybody on the team who was there at that point, we've all done.
02:27We've been we've been beating this thing, you know, to death for the last month in preparation for this day.
02:34And I keep I keep telling Raymond it was 10 years ago.
02:37Can we just move forward?
02:39But but no, Raymond wants to keep hammering it home.
02:42We're going to celebrate this day.
02:44So here we are.
02:45We're still talking about it.
02:47But, yeah, well, what was the question?
02:48I forget.
02:49Well, I just have this one and we only about 11 more questions about the game after that.
02:55Is that OK?
02:56Yeah, I really I really want to revisit this.
02:59What were you wearing that night?
03:01Well, I do know I was in a suit and tie and not a quarter zip.
03:05So there was that.
03:06Oh, do you want to weigh in on that, by the way, because that's become a thing all of a
03:10sudden the last few weeks with sort of talking about coaches being back in suits again?
03:16What's your perspective?
03:19Well, I got to tell you that when you pack for a 10 day road trip to to just throw
03:25a couple of pairs of slacks and two quarter zips into your bag is awfully convenient.
03:31But there's no question coaches look better back in the day in the suit and tie.
03:37But so, yeah, I don't I love the convenience of of the modern casual wear.
03:44But those guys who are proponents for the suits, they're not wrong.
03:50I mean, it does look way better.
03:51Yeah, I mean, you you probably look good no matter what quarter zip suit, whatnot.
03:57So for you, it probably isn't that much of a deal.
04:00But you think about now, 10 years later and your guy, Steph Curry, still out there hoisting 35, 40 footers.
04:06Do you ever take a moment to think about those early days and then realize just, you know, where you
04:12are now and how long you've been a part of Steph's life?
04:14I think about that all the time, just how lucky I am to to have this be my first coaching
04:21job and to inherit a team that was already really good with a young core.
04:27This doesn't happen.
04:29So I got really, really lucky.
04:31Steve Kerr with us on Willard and Dibs.
04:33Coach, it's a bummer that that Steph and LeBron won't share the court again tomorrow with Steph not being quite
04:39ready to go.
04:40But LeBron in town did sort of bring this question to my mind.
04:45You've watched these careers coincide through the years.
04:49And I wonder how you feel the NBA has changed and what they had to do with it since the
04:56arrival of Steph and LeBron.
04:59Well, first of all, they've been the torchbearers for the league, you know, throughout their careers.
05:08Both guys are just such amazing symbols and players and voices for our league.
05:18And, you know, getting the chance to coach LeBron two years ago in the Olympics was such a thrill.
05:25And to really get to know how committed he is, how passionate he is about the game, the preparation, everything
05:33that goes into it.
05:34So the league has just been incredibly fortunate to have those two guys as the faces of the league, you
05:42know, these last couple of decades, practically.
05:45How the game has changed?
05:46I think Steph has changed the game dramatically with the shooting, I mean, for all the reasons we know.
05:53So I don't know that LeBron has changed the game as much as Steph, but he sort of took the
06:01mantle from, you know, Kobe and Michael Jordan.
06:05You know, that guy who is just head and shoulders above everybody athletically.
06:11And but he's taken it to a new level with the versatility in his game.
06:16You know, there's just never been a player like him.
06:20And it's obviously, you know, displayed by his, you know, all the incredible records, the scoring record and so many
06:29others.
06:31But also, by the way, the game has changed around him in which he's helped, you know, where we're playing
06:37positionless basketball.
06:38If you if you ask me what position does LeBron play?
06:41I have no idea.
06:42It doesn't matter.
06:44He's just he's just a winner.
06:45Coach, when you coached the two of them on the same team, I'd love to know kind of your observation
06:52in terms of who took the lead.
06:54And it's not even just the two of them.
06:56You've got a room full of alphas when they all come together.
07:00How do all the alphas sort of decide who's the alpha?
07:05Well, the beauty of it was it just happened pretty organically.
07:09And LeBron is definitely the more vocal of the two.
07:12You know, Steph is a pretty quiet leader, leads by example.
07:17LeBron was very vocal.
07:20Every shoot around so engaged.
07:22You know, he'd been through USA basketball and the Olympics many times before.
07:27So he understood just the urgency that was necessary for every single practice.
07:33And and he showed that.
07:35And I think the guys all looked at him as the leader of the group.
07:40And then, you know, you saw it in the gold medal game when we were being threatened by France.
07:47And the guys all threw the ball to Steph, you know, whether it was Kevin Durant or LeBron, Joel, you
07:56know, all these guys who were MVPs and incredible players.
07:59There's they they did all defer to Steph down the stretch.
08:03And then to me, that was the ultimate sign of respect for for Steph that, you know, here are the
08:09greatest players on earth.
08:11And they they just respected him so much.
08:14And they they knew that he was likely to to make the shot.
08:19And he made like four of them.
08:20And they all kept throwing him the ball.
08:22It was incredible to watch.
08:23Yeah, respect, but also intelligence, because hello, I'm going to drive guys on a heater.
08:29I mean, can we go ahead and give him give him the ball?
08:31I wonder, Steve, about what you said earlier about changing the game.
08:35And he definitely changed the game.
08:37Steph did in the way you guys have gone about playing.
08:39But Mark and I were talking earlier, 42 percent of all shots now are three point shots.
08:45Do you find that to be good for the game?
08:49Well, whether it's good for the game or not, I mean, it's the league.
08:53The league has gotten really smart.
08:55You know, I think coaches are smarter than ever because we have more information than ever.
09:00And and there's a lot of innovation that is happening.
09:03And, you know, we just understand now much better what's a good shot, what's not and why.
09:10It's kind of the convergence of the analytics revolution with a younger generation of players that has grown up shooting
09:19more threes,
09:20and watching stuff and watching, you know, how powerful the three point shot is.
09:25Personally, I would I would probably prefer fewer three point shots than what we're seeing now.
09:32But I, you know, I get it.
09:35I mean, I think we'd take more than anybody in the league.
09:37And there's a reason for that.
09:39We're just trying to win.
09:40And and and so it's a tough thing for the league to to really try to reconcile if they do
09:47want fewer threes.
09:48I don't know how you do that, because I think what's happened is everybody is just optimizing efficiency.
09:55I wonder, Steve, where you think this is going and what it means for players who are, quote unquote, non
10:01shooters.
10:02I like you've even referred to him this year at times.
10:05They can hit a three, but they're not three point shooters.
10:09And the defense runs out of like Draymond Green, for example, like how much room is there for unique players
10:16that are not three point shooters going forward?
10:20Oh, there's still there's still room for guys who aren't three point shooters, but there's less room than there was
10:27before.
10:28I mean, now, you know, when I played, I mean, I retired in oh three.
10:32I would say at that point, every team had maybe four guys who were three point shooters.
10:38And now every team has 10, you know, and so there were back then there were more room for specialists,
10:44you know, the backup center who could use fouls against Shaq, you know, for example.
10:49Or the backup point guard who was really, you know, a game manager who couldn't shoot, but who could really
10:55run the offense.
10:56And and now it's there's fewer roles, but there still are roles, you know, great defenders, great rebounders, playmakers, guys
11:06who can play multiple positions.
11:10But even those guys, we we want them to be able to make an open three if possible, because that's
11:17the nature of the game right now.
11:18And you're describing kind of without saying it, Draymond Green, somebody who you have to have defensively on the floor.
11:25How much is it incumbent on him to, you know, be able to play without Steph Curry?
11:30Or do you really just kind of, you know, hold his minutes back until Steph and he are both able
11:35to play?
11:37No, we want him to play plenty of minutes while Steph is out.
11:41We just we just have to adapt what we're doing and he's got to adapt, you know, what he's doing
11:47individually.
11:47And so that's been a big conversation, a topic of conversation here in the last week or two with the
11:56staff since Steph's been out.
11:57And it's been several weeks, but we're, you know, we're really leaning into other spots of the on the floor
12:05for Draymond.
12:06And he's so used to being up at the top of the key with Steph in their two man game.
12:11But without Steph, we, you know, we're we're asking him to run to the corners, to, you know, run down
12:17to the block, to attack from different areas.
12:21And it's an adjustment for for a guy who's played a certain way for, you know, 12, 13 years.
12:28It's a big adjustment, but he's done it, done a really good job of that.
12:31As he is every week, Steve Kerr with us, Withered and Dibbs, 95.7 The Game.
12:35Steve, I described the team that you have right now earlier in today's show as a box of chocolates, because
12:42you really do.
12:43It feels like we're not exactly sure what what you're going to get.
12:47And there's the guys that don't do the back to backs and there's the guys out healthy.
12:51And you've got these young players. To what level do you feel that way?
12:56Like there's a lot of unknown in terms of what you're going to get consistently from your guys right now.
13:03I think that's fair. And some of it that is the injuries and some of it is that we have
13:10kind of adapted our style this year.
13:13And we're we're sort of morphing into a different team than we were a few years ago or even last
13:20year.
13:20And so when you have this this process, this evolution happening and, you know, all of a sudden you're playing
13:28you're playing two way guys who most of Dove Nation has not heard from or heard of.
13:36It's like the case with Malafi Lions the other night. I mean, it's it's it's different, but it's also fun
13:43and I'm really enjoying it.
13:45The one thing that I can count on every single night is how hard these guys are playing.
13:51And and it's been a good good run here without Steph, even though, you know, we're we're we're deficient, you
13:59know, in terms of top end talent.
14:01It's it's just really fun to see a group of guys go out and compete and play together.
14:06And that Denver game was one of the one of the best games of the year.
14:10I think our fans loved it as they should have.
14:13So so there's a lot to take away from situations like these.
14:17You see, he's he's Santos taking on more and more offensive responsibility, creating scoring chances for us.
14:25It's just it's really fun to see young players starting to to to to blossom.
14:31And you've got some guys like, you know, Brandon Pajemski, who is now in his third year.
14:35He seems like he's starting to graduate into a bigger role.
14:39And Moses Moody as well.
14:40What have you made of those two and how they've been able to, in a short stint, be able to
14:45graduate into more responsibility?
14:49Yeah, I mean, Moses has been probably our most consistent player now for the last six weeks or so.
14:54He's just shooting the lights out.
14:56He's there for us every night.
14:57He's guarding the opponent's best player.
15:00And you can see the comfort level, the confidence with with Mo.
15:04I think BP, too, you know, over the last week or two, he's had some really big games.
15:10You know, those guys were both starters for the last 30 games of last season.
15:15So this isn't brand new for them.
15:18But with Steph out and Jimmy out, you see that there's more shots, more responsibility.
15:24And and I think you see some of the confidence growing because of that.
15:28Steve, what's going on with Kristaps Porzingis and what is the expectation for tomorrow night?
15:34Well, he's questionable for tomorrow.
15:35He was really sick last week, as you guys know, didn't go on the trip, but he's feeling better.
15:42And he practiced with us today.
15:44And so we'll list him as questionable.
15:48The hope is definitely that that he'll be able to play tomorrow.
15:51I know listeners are still and I'd count even, you know, Dibs and I among those who were still trying
15:57to understand what the whole pots thing is that Kristaps has dealt with before.
16:03So when he was sick this week, is it kind of under that umbrella or was it just regular guy,
16:10regular sick?
16:13You know, when when I when I heard about the trade, I read about the pots diagnosis and then I
16:22called Onzi Salah, who was with us.
16:25He's now Atlanta's GM.
16:27And and I he's a good friend of mine.
16:30And I called him.
16:31I said, is this is this pot story real?
16:34And he said, it's it's actually not pots.
16:36It was not.
16:37And so that was yeah, that was some misinformation that was out there.
16:42I don't know if anybody's asked him about it.
16:46But bottom line is whatever was bothering him in Atlanta that was keeping him out had nothing to do with
16:54the illness last week.
16:56So he was he was just sick.
16:58You know, there's a lot going around, as you guys know.
17:01And and he was he was sick enough where he, you know, was losing a lot of fluid and just
17:07and contagious.
17:09And so we just kept him kept him home.
17:11But he's doing a lot better now.
17:12Steve, that's fascinating.
17:14I think that's actually like a shoe, shoe mongous development that people don't know.
17:21I almost like the first thought that kind of goes through my my mind is almost like, why hasn't that
17:26been maybe sort of trumpeted even more?
17:29I think that would make Warrior fans feel great about his potential health going forward.
17:36Well, I don't I don't really know what's out there.
17:40I just know that, you know, we had internal discussions and and, you know, and I've talked to Chris Thompson,
17:47you know, he he told me he's feeling good.
17:49And we haven't gone into depth with, you know, his his illness stuff, you know, in Atlanta.
17:58But, yeah, I mean, I got confirmation that it was not it was not POTS, but it was something else
18:05that was really difficult to to figure out.
18:09And that's sometimes the case, even in this modern age where we have a lot of answers, we never have
18:17all of them.
18:18And sometimes there's just mysterious stuff.
18:21Yeah, I mean, that that's for sure.
18:23And at least now Mark and I and many of us now know what POTS is.
18:27And so, I mean, thanks, Chris Tapps, I guess, for advancing my medical education just a little bit while we're
18:35in the in the blue tent, so to speak.
18:38Any any thoughts about Steph Curry and how he's doing and, you know, what he might be looking at as
18:43far as a return?
18:45Yeah, we'll have an update on on Sunday.
18:50But, you know, I talked to him today.
18:52He's feeling better.
18:54He got some shots up today after practice.
18:58But, you know, we'll have a much more comprehensive update on on Sunday when when we have a better, better
19:06feel for everything.
19:07A couple of the things on that.
19:09First of all, just real quick, how's Draymond doing and what's the thought they're going into the weekend?
19:14Yeah, Draymond's feeling good.
19:16He practiced fully today.
19:17So I expect him to play tomorrow.
19:19And then is there any it sounded to me like maybe he was pushing a little bit.
19:24Is there any chance that DeAnthony Melton will play back to back sometime soon?
19:28There is a chance, but it's it's not something that I know, you know, I can pinpoint when.
19:39But he is heading in a good direction and we bumped his minutes restriction up.
19:44So he's playing more minutes in individual games.
19:47And the next step hopefully is that he'll play in back to back.
19:52But I can't tell you exactly when that is.
19:55That'll be up to the training staff.
19:57Sure, sure.
19:58Steve Kerr with us here on on Willard and Dibs.
20:00Steve, I want to ask you this and in no way searching for some sort of a gotcha thing.
20:06But part of this is that you guys were in New Orleans earlier this week.
20:09And part of this is that is that Jonathan has debuted in Atlanta.
20:14When players move on from you guys, do you as an organization still keep an eye on them in a
20:21curiosity sort of way to see how they're performing and how that all looks?
20:26Yeah, for sure.
20:27I mean, I look at box scores every day anyway.
20:31But, you know, anytime we trade a guy, I want to I want to see how he's doing, check up
20:37on him.
20:38So I've been looking at box scores for Buddy and J.K. and Trace and, you know, hoping hoping that
20:45they're playing, you know, well and plan getting and getting a chance and that sort of thing.
20:51That's always kind of how how it goes.
20:54And then over time, you know, that sort of fades because, you know, the guys settle in on new teams
21:00and you get a feel for how they're doing.
21:02And, you know, maybe you don't check it as carefully as you do, you know, right away after trades.
21:08Did you get a chance to touch base with Kavon and JP when you were in New Orleans?
21:13I did.
21:14I talked with both of them.
21:16Always great to see both guys.
21:18You know, the beauty of being together and winning a championship together, you always have that bond.
21:25And I will feel close to those guys forever.
21:29And it was it was great to see them both.
21:33They're both really, really good guys.
21:35And I enjoyed coaching them.
21:37And we miss both guys for sure.
21:39Steve, on Tuesday night, we're taking some listeners to the Sharks game.
21:43We're going to go watch Macklin Celebrini in person for the first time.
21:48What what what what can you tell us about about this?
21:51Not that we're going to get to meet Macklin or anything, but, you know, just just wondering what what you
21:58can add to what we're going to be looking at.
22:00I can't really add that much, to be honest with you.
22:03But I watched all their games during the Olympics.
22:06I mean, how how incredible was that?
22:09I mean, competition just just unbelievable, unbelievable theater.
22:14The speed and the pace and the competitive desire.
22:18I mean, that's sports at its best.
22:20And I'm not a hockey guy, so I don't really know what I'm watching, but I do know what I'm
22:24watching.
22:25High level competition and skill.
22:29The first goal scored in that gold medal game by the American guy when he when he basically balanced to
22:36the puck on his stick and then flipped it forward and then score.
22:41That was incredible.
22:43Just unreal.
22:45And and it was so fun for us to watch Macklin and to see the family in the stands and
22:51to talk to Rick, you know, and text with Rick while it was all happening.
22:56We were all living vicariously through through Rick, but Macklin is obviously a special talent.
23:03But part of what part of what makes him special is the background, the family, much like Steph.
23:10You know, he just comes from such great stock, you know, such wonderful people.
23:15And I think that's why he will be the Sharks face in the franchise for for a long time to
23:21come.
23:21Well, if you want to learn a little bit more about it, we have a sweet Tuesday night.
23:26I know you don't fly to Houston till Wednesday.
23:29We can get you a spot, Steve, if you want to come to the game with us Tuesday night.
23:33I appreciate it.
23:34I'll be watching, but I'll be on my couch next to my dog.
23:38All right.
23:39Yeah.
23:39All right.
23:40Choosing the dog over us.
23:42Man.
23:42Yep.
23:43Again.
23:44Yet again.
23:44I mean, yet again.
23:45Yeah.
23:45You just want to rest on a night off.
23:47Like what?
23:48Come on, Steve.
23:50I know I really should drive an hour and a half down to watch the hockey game.
23:54Yeah.
23:56Come early and you can do the show with us.
23:58I mean, we got space.
24:00You know what?
24:01I'll keep that in mind.
24:02Thanks, guys.
24:03Sorry.
24:04Yeah.
24:04I'll take that as a maybe.
24:05All right.
24:07If you want rest, that's what you get.
24:10We'll let you go right now.
24:11Steve, thank you very much.
24:12Always great.
24:13All right.
24:14Thanks, guys.
24:15There he goes.
24:16Steve Kerr with us on Willard and Dibs.
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