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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: ROCKETS v WARRIORSMay 20, 2015Steve KerrOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day STEVE KERR: It's a fast game, and the game is chaotic. A lot of people are going to be open. They were open, too. Trevor Ariza popped open several times, Jason Terry did. The nature of the game is there are some going to be open looks, and Steph was working hard, moving without the ball, and got himself free and made the play. Q. Are you morally outraged that Steph got fined? STEVE KERR: I am morally outraged. Q. Tell us why. STEVE KERR: Well, these plays happen every day. I don't think a game goes by where Jamal Crawford doesn't flop six times on his three‑point shots. It's part of the game, and I don't blame him for doing it because a lot of times the refs call it. Russell Westbrook does it. Everybody does it. So all of a sudden just randomly to fine Steph just seems kind of strange. Are we just choosing one time to do this? You can pick out flops every single game from half the guys out on the floor, so it just seems sort of random. Q. Does that mean that Steph did intentionally flop? STEVE KERR: Probably. I didn't ask him, but it's part of the game. You go up and a guy challenges you on a shot, and I understand the league wants to get rid of it, but my point is why do we let all the other ones go. Q. Talking about small ball last night, and of course power is a question, and your small against their small‑‑ STEVE KERR: Well, they're really good small and so are we, so it just comes down to who performs better during that time when the teams are matched up that way. But I think that's the strength of our team is our ability to play, quote‑unquote, small but maintain our defensive integrity, and it's because of the versatility of Draymond and Andre and Harrison, the ability to guard multiple positions. Q. (Inaudible.) STEVE KERR: Bogs is fine with it. Bogs is the ultimate team guy. He just wants to win. He just made second team all‑defense today, Draymond made first team. They both represent kind of who we are as a group, but one night is someone's night and the next night it's someone else's. Q. What's the value of the guys making all‑defense if just for the sake of perception? STEVE KERR: The value for Andrew is $1.9 million. Q. That is the tangible value, yes. STEVE KERR: You mean like an intangible? Q. Well, there's still some people out there who see that all they do is outscore people. Is there any value of having two guys make all‑defense? STEVE KERR: I think it's just great that our guys were recognized for their efforts. The strength of this team really the last couple years, not just this year but the last two, three years, has been the defense. No.1 in defensive efficiency this year. Our work in the Memphis series the last three games defensively changed the series. So a lot of people talk about us being a jump shooting team, and we are, but all those jump shots are really set up by our defense. Our defense allows us to stay in games like last night where maybe we're getting blitzed early. We usually can count on making five or six stops in a row, getting out and running and making some of those jump shots, and that balance of the perimeter shooting with really good defense is kind of our identity. Q. From your point of view, I know you didn't take them lightly, they jump on you early, but is it a blessing in disguise to see what they did and come back on them and that kind of thing? STEVE KERR: It's always a blessing in disguise when you come back and win when that happens. If they had blitzed us and beaten us, obviously no blessing there. But to me it /SKWR*S came down to the intensity level had to pick up. Houston was intense right from the beginning. I thought they outplayed us the first quarter and a half, just getting to loose balls, making harder cuts, making us work on offense, and we were not getting into any kind of flow. It was able to turn with our effort, and that was good to see. Q. (Inaudible) flips that switch and goes off the way he does, how does that happen? STEVE KERR: Well, we have a few possible adjustments that we can make. Our feeling is if he's making tough shots, then you have to live with it, because everything is a calculated risk. You start messing around and junking up your defense, then you possibly are going to give up wide‑open threes to other guys. I thought Klay did a fantastic job on him. He held him to six free throws, which was important. He's a superstar. He's going to make tough shots. We can live through stretches of that as long as we're not giving up other areas of the game that we want to protect. Q. You have guys that can run the point and run the offense but are capable of those takeover moments. Are there any other guys in this league that do that as well as those guys? STEVE KERR: Sure. A guy named LeBron who can do that, Kyrie Irving can do that. There's not 30 of them in the league, but there's‑‑ I could probably list 10 or 15 guys who can take over a game offensively with the ball in their hands, but that's what makes those guys special, and that's why they get paid a lot of money. Q. You went small even when Dwight Howard was in there in the first half. Why is that an effective strategy when the other team can play big still? STEVE KERR: Well, it only works if we can make stops, and we made stops last night because we were active. We set a double‑team a couple times and forced turnovers. And then what it does offensively is it spreads the floor and we can put Draymond in that high screen and put shooters around him. It just opens things up for us. The only way it works is if we can make stops, and we did last night. Q. Does this label Steph? Does that kind of put a spotlight on him? STEVE KERR: No. I don't think it's a big deal. I mean, like I said, I think he did flop. I think he does flop, but I think everybody else does, too, and I'm not sure why they singled him out, but it's not a big deal. It shouldn't affect anything for the next game for him. Q. (Inaudible) said last night's game demonstrated that (inaudible) under states the value to your teammates? STEVE KERR: Well, I think Jeff is right. We've proven we can win when Bogut doesn't play well, but we'd rather have him out on the floor. He's one of the top defenders in the league, rim protectors. He's a great passer. We're better when Bogs is on the floor doing his thing, but if he's not, we have proven that we can survive. Q. If Dwight is limited or can't go because of his knee, how much does that change your mindset? STEVE KERR: Doesn't change anything for us. Obviously it's a big factor for them. Doesn't change our mindset or our approach. Q. (Inaudible.) STEVE KERR: I think Bob may have told them, but they both knew before I did. Q. Any kind of celebration or‑‑ STEVE KERR: Players gave them a nice ovation, and it was pretty much unanimous that Bogs is going to buy dinner down in Houston for the team. Q. (Inaudible.) What is that like when two guys are in sync like that? STEVE KERR: Well, it's a little bit like Steph and Klay offensively, what Andrew and Draymond do defensively. It's two guys who are very good at what they do, who complement one another, and when they start to get to know each other's games and they know where the other one is going to be, they work well together, and because of their individual skills and now the continuity and familiarity together, they're able to really make plays not just individually but as a unit, and it's fun to watch. Q. What's the update on Marreese Speights? STEVE KERR: He's getting better, but he won't play tomorrow, but he is making improvement. Q. Do you expect him to play this series? STEVE KERR: It's hard to say. It's hard to say. He's day‑to‑day, but he's just probably going to start running right now. Q. Has it been more extensive than you initially thought? STEVE KERR: No, this is exactly what we thought. Q. What does it do when you're able to play (inaudible)? STEVE KERR: Well, it's effective because we can take Steph and play off the ball, run him off screens, and Shaun is capable, as he showed last night, of getting in the paint and scoring over the top of the defense, so it changes our look a little bit, gives Steph a break from having to handle the ball every time down the floor. Shaun was great, really carried us in that second quarter, and he's been a factor for us all season. Q. (Inaudible.) STEVE KERR: Houston is a very talented team, excellent defensively, so they make you work. You can't settle for quick shots, and Draymond is one of our best play makers, so we know we have to get deeper into our offense to get good shots. He's a big part of that because he often catches the ball after the initial action, and when he can play make from that spot, we're better for it. Q. What is your coaching policy on players bringing kids to the postgame press conference? STEVE KERR: I'm all for it. I'm going to actually make it a requirement for Steph to bring Riley every single press conference. That was the most entertaining press conference ever. My wife was loving it by the way. She thought it was the cute he's thing ever. I'm sure you guys were more entertained by Riley than by whatever Steph was talking about. I'm guessing. Q. (Inaudible.) Was there something going on different? STEVE KERR: Just had a tough run and didn't go his way. It doesn't mean we won't go back to him. I have confidence in him. He was great in the Memphis series. Every series is different. The match‑ups are different. You have to get a feel for what's happening, and David will be better tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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