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NBA FINALS PREVIEWJune 1, 2015Steve KerrQ. What were you able to get out of Klay today? COACH KERR: Klay went full bore in practice. Q. Did he look good? COACH KERR: He's continuing to go through the protocol, league‑mandated protocol. So each day he's progressed and looked great, but the doctors will continue to evaluate him, and we'll just take it day‑by‑day. Q. At this point would you expect him to be cleared? COACH KERR: Yeah, we'll see. Q. What is the difference between being able to clear for practice full bore but not yet play in the game? COACH KERR: I have no idea. Probably the league saying he can't play for whatever reason. So we just follow the protocol and listen to the doctors and put him through each stage. Q. He's feeling good though? COACH KERR: He feels good. Q. What was he able to do today? COACH KERR: He did everything. We scrimmaged, we went through defensive stuff. He did everything. Q. Do doctors actually observe practice and monitor him during practice? COACH KERR: I think what they do is they check on him every 15 minutes. So Joe Hahn is monitoring him as we go. That's what they've been doing the last couple of days: Monitor him, send him back out, continue to monitor him, check on him afterwards. And like I said, he's doing fine. Q. Steve, Alvin Gentry's prowess with X's and O's is pretty well established. What are some of the other things he's done for you this year in the scope of how he's helped you? COACH KERR: He's been huge for me, given this is my first year. I had to feel the game, I had to feel the rhythm. To have him next to me each game before and after every practice to offer advice to offer words of wisdom. I've done it this way.  I've done it that way. You might want to consider this. You might want to think about that. It's great just having that sounding board and somebody who has been doing this for a long time. Most importantly is anybody who knows Alvin would tell you, to do it Alvin's way, which is always with a smile and a great vibe about him. What he brings to this team goes way beyond drawing up a play. It's just his personality, his energy, and his spirit. We're going to miss that, but I'm thrilled for him. It's a great opportunity, and he deserves it. Q. How actively will the two of you be talking during a typical game? COACH KERR: All the time. He's on one side of me. Ron's on the other. Luke's one step down from there. We're always talking. But Alvin is the one I talked to the most in terms of substitution patterns. What do you think about taking a timeout here. What play would you like to run, that kind of stuff. It's been very collaborative. As I said, he's been the guy I've leaned on the most this year. Q. (Indiscernible)? COACH KERR: Mo looked good in practice today. He's still day‑to‑day, and we'll have to see how he responds. But he was really solid and much better each day. Q. Was he pretty much doing everything as well today? COACH KERR: Yeah, he did everything. Q. Coach Kerr, how did you find out about Sweetie? COACH KERR: Somebody sent me the link. I think it was probably Raymond. What a great story. 105 years old, following the Warriors for all these years. And I loved her message, "Don't get the swell head." That's exactly right. Don't get the swell head. Keep playing, keep working. That's always our message to the guys. But Sweetie had a better way of putting it than I did. So don't get the swell head and keep going. From what I gather we're going to have her at Game 1, which I'm really excited about. Q. How do you manage keeping your team focused and the distractions that go around that from you being a player and getting through that? COACH KERR: We just try to talk about what's coming. Part of this is right here. For a normal game there are maybe seven or eight of you, and now there's, I don't know, 40. By Wednesday there will be a hundred, and by game night there will be a couple hundred. But it goes beyond that. It's what do you do when you leave the floor? Are you distracting yourself? Are you keeping yourself occupied with a movie and a book or a video game, or are you going home and turning on the TV and listening to talk radio and what is the most productive way to approach this? That is the message. Q. Do you remember your first NBA Finals and who gave you the best advice about distractions? COACH KERR: My first Finals was '96, and the Bulls had already been there three times, so Phil Jackson gave us, those of us who were new to it, gave us plenty of good advice. It is different. The game is the same, but everything surrounding the game is totally different from even the Conference Finals, and that's the biggest adjustment. Q. Are you proceeding as if Irving will be full‑go for them? How much different are they if he's healthy and productive? COACH KERR: Sure. Obviously he's a great player, and he's a guy that can take over a game. He can break down your scheme, whatever your scheme is with his brilliant one‑on‑one stuff. So some stuff you can prepare for, others you can't. But we're preparing for him to be 100%. Q. Is that something that Klay would be assigned to? COACH KERR: He could. So could a lot of other guys. Q. Talk about this being your first year and getting to this great place and great moment? COACH KERR: It's been just a dream season. To come in with this group, this amount of talent, this kind of chemistry. Guys who work hard every day and who enjoy being in the gym. To have this kind of success and to be in the Finals doesn't get much better, so I'm very, very lucky. Q. Finals championships, any particular memories stand out? COACH KERR: All of them. All of them. Q. Equally? COACH KERR: They're all equal. The only memory that I really think about with each one is the final buzzer and celebrating with my teammates. That's what it's about. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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