- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00All guests on 95.7, the game appear on the River Island's guest line, and that's where we go right
00:05now for Steve Kerr, presented by Great Clips.
00:08In sports, success is about team effort, and the same is true for your hair. Great Clips, it's going to
00:12be great.
00:13Here he is, Coach Steve Kerr with us here on Willard and Dibbs. Hey, Coach, what's going on?
00:18I'm doing well. How are you guys?
00:19We're doing great. I want to just start out by kind of gauging how this process is feeling for everybody.
00:26I know there's been a lot made throughout the year of you guys having a hard time putting boots on
00:31the same ground for an extended period of time.
00:34So the fact that the Clippers were the opponent Sunday and again tomorrow night, in what way has that kind
00:41of helped you get ready for this one?
00:45Well, it's been nice to not get on a plane. That always helps, and everybody loves coming to L.A.
00:52You know, we all went over to Draymond's house last night for dinner. He hosted the whole team and coaching
00:58staff, which was awesome.
01:00So some good bonding, and we've had two good practices getting ready for tomorrow.
01:05So, yeah, it's all been very positive down here.
01:09Is Draymond a good cook? What did he serve up for you guys?
01:13He's really good at catering, I can tell you that.
01:18That's always fun.
01:20Yeah, I know. It was awesome. It was really a fun night.
01:23He threw a great party, and, you know, it's always good to get the guys together in an informal setting
01:31like that.
01:32It just feels different. It feels good.
01:34And does that kind of help the vibe going into tomorrow, the fact that you didn't have to fly, you
01:39got to go to Draymond's house?
01:40What's the current mood after 82?
01:43Obviously hopeful to get more than just one more game, but what's the clubhouse for the team vibrate like right
01:48now?
01:49Yeah, the vibe's good.
01:51You know, I mean, it's been just such a disjointed season with all the injuries, and obviously we didn't finish
01:56the season well, you know, losing seven out of eight.
02:00And so we're trying to make something, you know, out of this season, and we know that we can salvage,
02:08you know, quite a bit of this season.
02:11If we can win tomorrow and get another win in the next play-in game and give ourselves a chance,
02:17I mean, that would be a hell of an accomplishment given everything we've been through.
02:21So we're focused. We're locked in. Our guys are competitive and ready to go, and we are relatively healthy.
02:29You know, with Steph back and Chris Dobbs back, so we'll give it our best shot. We'll see what we've
02:36got.
02:36Steve, how far down the bench do you go tomorrow night? At least what's your plan on, for instance, how
02:44many players might play?
02:47It, you know, it all depends, but we don't have, other than Brandon Kujemski, I'm not sure anybody is even
02:58capable of playing more than, you know, 35 minutes.
03:01I mean, Steph just came back, obviously, didn't quite get to 30 the other night.
03:05I think Draymond's been around 28 to 30 all year, Chris Dobbs and Al kind of mid-20s.
03:11So that's just who we are right now as a team, and with Jimmy and Moses out, obviously, it puts
03:20us, you know, in a bind in terms of the minutes we need.
03:24So we'll play our bench. We'll play guys, and the game will tell us what we need to do, but
03:31we've got to be ready to use our whole bench.
03:34Steve, I'm glad you brought up the kind of, you know, the minutes thing for Steph and Draymond.
03:38I know the other night, Sunday night, you were asked a question by a reporter that included the word restrictions,
03:44and when you're going into an elimination game, let's just say I have heard from some that sort of felt
03:52like the idea of minutes restrictions in a game like this sort of resonated for them, like maybe this game
04:00isn't kind of as important as other type elimination games that you've played in the past.
04:06How would you respond to that and expand on that?
04:11No, I think that's probably just the figure of speech of minutes restriction.
04:18It's not like, hey, we want to limit this person, you know, to a certain number of minutes.
04:24It's literally that that person cannot play that many minutes, and so this is all about health, and so you
04:34have to be mindful of health.
04:36As you play these games, and you have to be mindful of how many minutes can a guy play and
04:43be expected to be effective.
04:47So that's really what we're facing.
04:50You know, Al has only been back for two games, you know, and he's 39, and, you know, he's probably
05:0024 minutes max.
05:01If we tried to play him much more than that, I think it's diminishing returns, and probably say the same
05:07thing about several guys.
05:09So it's not about how badly we want to win.
05:14It's just how many minutes guys can literally play and stay effective.
05:18Yeah, Mark was referring to me, by the way, Coach.
05:21Oh, okay.
05:22All right.
05:22I didn't get that.
05:23He was trying to be subtle and also protect his partner, which I respect, but I was saying that, you
05:29know, it kind of speaks to me about a lack of desire to really go out and compete, but the
05:33way you explained it makes some sense.
05:35I'm just curious if it's them not being fit enough because they haven't played enough, or is there an injury
05:40risk, a re-injury risk by playing them more?
05:44Well, both.
05:45Those things go hand in hand, you know, and I would say if we had another couple of weeks of
05:52Steph, you know, recovering from his absence, he'd be able to play more minutes.
05:58But this is just the reality of where he is, where Al is, Chris Stops, and like I said, you
06:07know, we can get BT up into the high 30s if we want.
06:12You know, Melton's capable of playing some good minutes.
06:15Guy Santos as well.
06:17So we throw all that into the hopper, and we figure out a plan, and we go from there.
06:23And then, you know, the guys coming off the bench, it'll just depend on how the game's going, and we'll
06:30read it and react accordingly.
06:32Yeah, Steve, I'm curious as a staff, to what level you also look at this as a full week.
06:38In other words, there is no Friday if you don't play well tomorrow, but you also want to leave Friday
06:44in a good spot if you do play well tomorrow.
06:46So to what level does Friday go into your thinking about tomorrow?
06:53It doesn't factor in at all.
06:57You know, but look, you know what's on my mind from last year is we played Steph 44 minutes in
07:05Game 7 of the Houston series,
07:06and he pulls his hamstring 48 hours later.
07:11You know, that's still on my mind.
07:13I think about that.
07:14And so, you know, you get the situations where you do have to push the envelope a little bit, but
07:22you can't do anything that's irresponsible.
07:24And that's why Rick Celebrini sits right behind me, and we talk throughout the game, and I check in with
07:30him to see how guys are doing.
07:32Or if he sees something, you know, he'll let me know.
07:35And so we just have to figure out the best solution.
07:40But, yeah, we've got to win tomorrow or Friday doesn't even matter.
07:44It would be Wednesday, Friday, and then a Sunday matinee.
07:47I won't even ask about load managing Game 1 until we get closer.
07:51But 30 in a row, the play in.
07:53Yeah, we're just not even.
07:53No, we've already decided.
07:54We're just not going to send all the starters to Oklahoma City for Game 1.
07:59I love it.
08:00Just leave them at home.
08:00Yeah, yeah, we've already made it.
08:02I hope that you can understand the sarcasm and the voice there.
08:06Oh, shoot.
08:07I was going to ask about Game 2.
08:09What about Game 2, Steve?
08:11How about that one, too?
08:13I'm pretty sure I'm going to get aggregated and aggravated with that quote.
08:19It would be an aggravation sensation is what that would be.
08:23I'm excited that you're not already aggravated.
08:26That's true.
08:27We're not doing our job.
08:28I mean, you guys are in the play-in again, Steve, third year in a row and fourth time in
08:33six years.
08:34What do you think of the play-in tournament?
08:36I know it's valuable this year because you needed it to keep this thing alive, but has it outlasted its
08:42welcome?
08:44No, I don't think so.
08:46I think it creates some intrigue.
08:48I mean, everybody, if you're a sports fan, everyone likes a one-and-done situation.
08:53You know, there's a lot of drama.
08:56You know, I'll be honest.
08:57I mean, it's completely self-serving.
09:00I've hated it when we were seventh and eighth, and I've loved it when we were tenth.
09:03So, you know, it's as simple as that.
09:07I mean, you definitely don't like it, you know, if you're in that top eight.
09:13But, you know, I'm all for what makes the league better.
09:17I think all in all, the play-in has been pretty successful.
09:22It's kept a lot of teams in the playoff hunt.
09:25It's created kind of an additional race amongst playoff teams that are in fifth or sixth, you know, seventh,
09:33trying to get into that top six or avoid the seven or eight spots.
09:38So, it's created some intrigue, and I think that's good.
09:42Have you learned anything from your past play-in experiences that you can apply tomorrow night?
09:49Yeah, I think so.
09:51I mean, you know, having played in, I guess, four of these now, it's basically, I mean, it feels the
10:02exact same as a game seven.
10:04So, you know, the playoff experience that we have, that we've been through together, it all adds up.
10:14And I think we all feel good about our plan, our game plan tomorrow and our chances.
10:19And the idea that you, you know, you let it rip.
10:22You just, there's no holding back anything.
10:27And it's fun.
10:28I mean, it's great to be part of this kind of competition, and our guys are looking forward to it.
10:32Steve Kerr with us on Willard and Dibs.
10:34Okay, Steve, you've answered this, and I think I know what you're going to say,
10:38but I got to be honest with you about something that's just sort of coming up with, you know,
10:44the article that came out this morning about your future, et cetera.
10:48You have said you're still having a great time, and you still want to do this.
10:52And Draymond has gone public and said he and Steph don't want anybody else coaching this team.
10:57And Joe Lacob has publicly stated, like, Steve Kerr can, you know, like, we want Steve Kerr to be the
11:06coach kind of as long as Steve wants to be the coach.
11:08If that's how everybody feels, isn't that the alignment that you're talking about?
11:13Like, what is the holdup if that's how everyone feels?
11:19Well, we just decided, you know, at the beginning of the year that we would just wait.
11:23And so that's what we're doing.
11:25We're just waiting until the end of the year, and I'm perfectly comfortable with that.
11:30I've said that many times.
11:32And when you're in the midst of the season and the playoff race,
11:37it just consumes all your time and efforts.
11:40And there's just time for that after the season, and so that's when we'll address it.
11:46Have you had any thoughts about, you know, tomorrow and that maybe being your final game as the Warrior head
11:52coach?
11:53I'm honestly not thinking about that.
11:56I'm just locked in on trying to beat the Clippers.
12:00You know, they've played really well lately.
12:03They've got Kawhi playing as well as I think any player in the league over the last six weeks or
12:09so.
12:10They're a little different, you know, with Garland instead of James Harden.
12:15And we're studying to, you know, to get ready for that.
12:20And what I'm thinking about, honestly, is how much I enjoy this.
12:24We were talking to the staff this morning about how fun playoff basketball is, even play-in basketball,
12:30which is, you know, basically the same thing.
12:33I mean, just to have the time to put together a game plan and get together with the players
12:38and collaborate and go for it, it's still a thrill.
12:43I still love what I do, and I've been lucky to be here for 12 years with this group.
12:49And like I said, we'll figure all that other stuff out after the season ends.
12:53Yeah, Steve, I mean, you've answered a lot of these.
12:55But, like, there's a hypothetical here that I'll admit it's a hypothetical.
13:00But I've heard you answer about the future.
13:03I've heard you say you never want to leave Steph Curry.
13:07I don't know if I've ever heard you answer whether or not you'd consider coaching the Warriors
13:12beyond Steph Curry's time.
13:16Yeah, I have no idea.
13:18You know, when you're 60, you know, and you've been doing something for 12 years
13:24and you love the people you work with, you literally just take it one year at a time.
13:29And so I have no idea what's going to happen when I'm done with the Warriors.
13:33And I don't even have any idea, really, what's going to happen next year.
13:37So right now, I'm just focused on our game tomorrow and our guys.
13:46And let's let it rip and see what happens.
13:49And then we'll worry about all that stuff next week.
13:52I was doing the research earlier, Steve, and only seven coaches have had a longer tenure
13:56in the association than you at 12 years, consecutive years coaching one team.
14:01Greg Popovich, obviously, at the top of the list with the 29 years.
14:05Have you thought of any of that in a reflective sort of way about the 12 years
14:10and just how incredible it's been to be in one spot this long?
14:15I think about that all the time, you know, even in past years where this question, you know,
14:22hasn't come up of, you know, when I'm going to be done or anything like that.
14:27I reflect all the time on what an incredible amount of good fortune I've received in my life
14:35to play with Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan and, you know, coach the Warriors and Steph Curry
14:43and Ray and Andre and Clay, all these guys.
14:47I mean, I've lived a charmed NBA basketball existence, I can tell you that.
14:52And I never take it for granted.
14:55I savor every day.
14:56And like I said, we'll just, you know, whenever the season ends, we'll sit down and figure out what's next.
15:06I imagine that some of these things happen spur of the moment or they're called for in certain years,
15:12but I'm thinking of that famous speech that apparently Steph Curry gave the group
15:18before you guys went to game seven in Sacramento, just because it's an elimination game.
15:24What is sort of expected or what do you think Steph Curry will do, if anything,
15:30to sort of address this particular group going into a game tomorrow night?
15:34He doesn't need to address this.
15:37That was very specific to that team, you know, and I think it's been documented.
15:43That team was not very well connected, and we had chemistry stuff,
15:50and Steph basically called everybody to the front, you know, and said,
15:54I'm going to Sacramento, and who's with me?
15:58And he willed us to victory at 50 points.
16:01You know, I think part of his legend, part of just his incredible power,
16:06was he was able to lift a team that had been really fractured, you know,
16:12trying to defend a championship that year, but having a lot of issues
16:18that have been well documented, and Steph was able to get us over the hump.
16:23This team doesn't have any of those issues in terms of being fractured
16:26and chemistry stuff.
16:27This team has just been beaten to a pulp by injury.
16:30So we're just trying to get out there in one piece and give it a hell of a run,
16:39and the guys are all together on this.
16:42Like I said, we had a great night last night at Draymond's,
16:45and I think everyone is really committed to just giving this the best shot we have
16:51and understanding the circumstances.
16:53They are what they are, and we've been given a lifeline with this play
16:59and opportunity from the 10th seed.
17:02So let's make the most of it.
17:03So I gather what you're saying with this group in terms of, like, off-court chemistry,
17:09but what about on-court chemistry?
17:11Because so many of them have just, as you just said,
17:14they've not been able to play a lot of games together.
17:17Yeah, and that's obviously been an issue.
17:20So, you know, hopefully these last few games, you know,
17:24playing with Steph back and playing with Al,
17:28hopefully the time on the floor together will be reflected in our play tomorrow night.
17:34We've got a good game plan.
17:36We're excited to play.
17:38And, you know, one game.
17:40You know, you just have to beat them once to move forward,
17:45and that's the goal.
17:48So who are you watching the game with tonight?
17:50You've got Portland and Phoenix, and, I mean, you've got to have some,
17:53not rooting interest, but you have to have some scouting interest and intensity.
17:57You guys all get together and do the pizza and the notebook thing tonight?
18:02Well, you also need some technical skills since it's on, what is it, on Prime?
18:08Yeah, Prime Video.
18:10Yeah, do you think I know how to put it from my phone to my TV?
18:17What's it?
18:18Cast?
18:18Do you think I know how to cast something onto my TV screen in my hotel room?
18:23Hell no.
18:23Yeah.
18:24I mean, if you need my login, Steve, I can text it to you if you need a Prime login.
18:29Oh, no, I got the login.
18:30I'll just, I can watch it on my phone.
18:32I just can't get that thing onto the big screen, you know?
18:35So, but we'll be watching.
18:37We'll be watching from various points where there's no watch party.
18:41We're locked, you know, we're locked in on the Clippers,
18:43and obviously if we can get this one tomorrow,
18:46then our focus just turns to Phoenix or Portland.
18:50We've got guys on our coaching staff who have already prepared game plans for both Phoenix and Portland.
18:57Scott Vaughn is our advanced scout.
19:01He'll be at the game tonight, and he'll be watching.
19:04He'll have his report tomorrow.
19:06So, yeah, we've got, you know, we've got every, all the contingency plans are in place,
19:11and we're just hoping we have to activate them because we're dying to keep playing.
19:15Can we talk a little bit about those Clippers?
19:19And, you know, you had mentioned Darius Garland, and Kawhi is very healthy,
19:24healthier maybe than he's been in years.
19:26So how do you go about attacking them on the defensive side of the floor?
19:33Well, are you talking about our offense attacking their defense or our defense?
19:38I'm talking about you.
19:39Yeah, I'm talking about you defending Kawhi and Garland.
19:42Yeah, yeah, well, it's a huge challenge.
19:45We just can't give them too much space, you know.
19:50Garland really thrives in the open court, and Kawhi, you know,
19:54he will just beat you up from the midrange, those pull-up jumpers.
19:59So we've got to at least make things look crowded and try to create some havoc
20:05and try to be as active as possible defensively.
20:09We just can't give up the easy stuff, you know, live ball turnovers, transition points,
20:16Garland sneaking through the cracks, you know, getting layups.
20:19We've got to take away the easy stuff and make it as difficult as possible on those two.
20:25But, you know, they've got shooting around them too, and you've got to know your shooters.
20:30You've got to know who you're closing out to.
20:34So we've got to be sharp, but that's what makes the playoffs fun is everybody's antenna have to go up,
20:41and you have to have game plan discipline.
20:44You've got to be prepared, and our guys will be.
20:49Okay, Steve.
20:50Well, I tell you what, this is going to be one, obviously, we're all watching,
20:56and fingers crossed that when we talk to you next week,
21:00we'll be talking about the series against Oklahoma City.
21:03Man, how fun would that be?
21:06It would be very fun.
21:08That would be very, very fun.
21:09That would be awesome.
21:10Yeah, yeah.
21:11All right.
21:11Well, thanks, guys.
21:12Appreciate it.
21:13All right, Coach.
21:13Thanks, Steve.
21:14Good luck.
21:16There you have it.
21:17Steve.
Comments