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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: PELICANS v WARRIORSApril 20, 2015Steve KerrOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Warriors – 97 Q. I know that comparing defensive efforts for your team can be a fruitless exercise, but giving up nine field goals in the second half, is that your best of the year, close to your best? How would you quantify it? COACH KERR: I rather enjoy fruitless exercises, so I'll go ahead and answer that. It was fantastic. I mean, the energy that we were able to expend and limit what they could do. You know, they're a handful, we know that. Between Davis and their three‑point shooters and the penetration from Evans. You've got to cover a lot of floor and try to contain Davis with other people because he's too good to guard one‑on‑one. So it's a lot to ask, but we feel like that's the identity of our team is our defense and our versatility at that end. I thought Draymond was just fantastic. Bogut fantastic, and the defense carried the day. Q. There was a stretch in the opening minutes of the last quarter where Draymond hit a three and then after he kind of pounded his chest, he went on a tear where he stole the ball, threw up for lobs, switched like three different times. How important was that small stretch from him to kind of boost that final quarter? COACH KERR: Yeah, that was big. It was an interesting game for us. The second and fourth quarters were great. The first and third were pretty rough. Draymond is always the guy who has the passion and the intensity that sort of lifts us up when we need it, and he's also a great playmaker at both ends of the floor. But we've got to get better with our decision making. We always sort of walk the line. This team, between explosive and careless. I thought in the first quarter we were trying for hero shots. I thought in the third quarter when we started playing one‑on‑one again, and when we moved the ball tonight, we got good shots and we got good flow. That was really the second unit that got us on the right track, Barbosa, Livingston, Speights, Andre, they were fantastic. Festus came in and gave us a few really good minutes defensively. So this game was much more indicative of our team than game one was. I didn't give the bench enough of a chance in Game 1. I liked the box score. I like the fact that those guys came out and gave us that lift to start the second quarter. Q. Talk about Steph. He didn't score the last 17 minutes, but you guys figured it out there was also a nice stretch where you stuck with the bench and it worked. What went right there without him being him? COACH KERR: Well, that's what makes Steph special, even when he's not scoring the defense is chasing him around. He opens up lanes for everybody else. So when you see Draymond drive to the rim after catching a pass from Steph, well, there are two guys on Steph on the perimeter, and that's what opens the floor. Klay got free because, again, they're shading towards Steph. We run something on the weak side, Klay gets an opening. Steph is just as much a threat without the ball as he is with the ball, and that's what makes him, I think, really unique. Even amongst the great players in this league. Without the ball, when you're that kind of a threat and you sort of bend the defense, then you're impacting the game every play. Q. Anthony Davis in Game 1 had 20 points in the fourth quarter. This time he didn't score a basket in the fourth quarter. What was the difference in your eyes to how you guys defended him this time versus in Game 1? COACH KERR: We played a lot of minutes. He played 45 minutes. We're trying to put a lot of pressure on him. Between Bogut and Draymond, we're trying to go back and forth and give them a different look and try to help without giving up the three‑point shots, which is easier said than done. But we're throwing the kitchen sink at him. That's all you can do. I think we've done a really good job on him, but he's putting up huge numbers because he's a great player. Q. Based on your comments, after Game 1, it seemed like you wanted to see something special tonight in terms of consistent effort just to see how they would react. It didn't seem like consistent play. Were you happy with what you got tonight in terms of the energy, the focus, the approach? COACH KERR: Happy with the energy. The focus was sporadic. We obviously had enough intensity the whole game, but our focus waned a couple times, a couple stretches in the first and third quarter where we just started overdribbling, and attacking in places where there wasn't any space. So we've got to put four quarters together where we're just executing and moving the ball and taking care of it. That's what we've done this year for the most part, but we're still a pretty young team. We still get excited at times and do some crazy things. But I kind of like the fact that we walk that line. It's what makes us who we are. Q. You always say that Festus is your defensive back‑up center and Mo is your offensive back‑up center. But can you speak to Mo's defensive contribution? COACH KERR: Yeah, Mo was great. He took a charge, he blocked a couple shots. He was out there rebounding. He was really important for us tonight. I didn't play him enough in Game 1. I always feel like in a playoff series you're sort of trying to figure things out as you go. I was very intent, especially with the big lead in Game 1 after one quarter to stay with our best defensive lineups. That didn't go so well for us offensively in Game 1. The second quarter we didn't score for the first four minutes or so. Obviously, Mo's had a great year. Double figure scorer for us. One of the best shooting big men in the league, and he was great. He made his first two shots and then really didn't get it going. But it was the energy that he gave us with those field goals got the crowd back in it. Then his defense was excellent. He was one of the leading charge takers in the league this year. I don't know where he finished, but I know he was in the top three all year, so he's an underrated defender. Q. After the game, Draymond Green discussed being tired and that it was taxing to defend Anthony Davis. How do you make decisions about maintaining and preserving him through this series in playoffs? COACH KERR: I asked Draymond if he's tired, and if he says no, I leave him in. If he says yes, I leave him in. It's a very scientific approach. Q. I invite you to talk more about Draymond Green, if you care to. COACH KERR: Just an open canvas? It's all mine? Q. Whatever you want to say. COACH KERR: Just what I've always dreamed of. It's hard to put into words what Draymond means to the team. I think you guys who have been watching this club all year know he does everything. He's a Jack of all trades. On top of that, he's one of our leaders and the guy who talks the most trash to the other team, to the refs to his teammates, to me. He's kind of our life line. It's great. Anthony Davis, we know he's phenomenal. He's going to be an MVP in this league before too long. So you have to have guys who can put up a fight, and Draymond put up an incredible fight tonight, and it helps an awful lot to have Andrew Bogut kind of take turns on him as well. But the guy is a handful. Q. 2‑0 is 2‑0, but what impression has New Orleans made on you especially now going back their way? COACH KERR: They're the team we thought they were. To quote a great Dennis Green, we are who we thought they were, or something like that. They're an excellent team. They're well‑rounded. They're well‑coached. They play well defensively. They're tough. This is exactly what we thought we were getting, and this is the playoffs in the west. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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