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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 4, 2015Steve KerrOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game One Q. We had a chance to talk to several of the players at the shootaround, but I'm wondering if you got a sense of their mood heading into Game 1. COACH KERR: I think they're loose.  I think we've had a fantastic season. We're excited to be here in The Finals. This is what we were hoping for all along. We're healthy. We're ready to go, and home court advantage, playing in front of our crowd Game 1, playing in June, it's all good stuff. This is what we had hoped for, and here we are. So I think we'll come out loose and ready to roll. Q. When tonight's game starts, does it initially feel a little strange to the players and become a basketball game four or five minutes in, or does it always feel like just a game? COACH KERR: Well, it feels different just because of the chaos that surrounds the event. I think the media day yesterday was good for us just to feel the difference in the building from not only the regular season but from the earlier playoff rounds. There is a distinct different feel in The Finals. So I'm glad our players felt that yesterday. They'll probably feel it early in the game. Who knows how long it will take them to settle in, but they'll settle in once the game starts. It's still just a game. Q. Steve, I don't know how much you've been around The Finals as a broadcaster recently, but from your time as a player, has it changed dramatically, the media presence and the bigness of this, in your mind, from when you were here last time? COACH KERR: Yeah, you know, with Turner I never covered The Finals. It was always ABC and ESPN. So I was always watching it on TV. The last time I really had been part of The Finals was '03 as a player. And yesterday's media day I would say was probably twice the size of what I remember. So, like everything else in the sports world, the spectacle surrounding the game continues to grow‑‑ more and more outlets, more and more different types of media, and more and more people from all over the world. As I said, it still comes down to just playing the game. Q. Steve, sometimes your offense is shorthanded on threes and lay‑ups. If you were forced to take jump shots, how would you feel about that, and is that going to make or break you? Mid‑range jump shots. COACH KERR: Mid‑range jump shots? Oh, well, every game is a little different. We obviously rely on a lot of threes as does Cleveland. We feel like we can get points from a lot of different people. Every game, it takes on a life of its own. Game 5 against Houston last time we were in this building, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli were our big guns in the fourth quarter. Harrison made several floaters and shots in the paint. Festus got some putbacks. Every game is a little different, and we're confident we can score in a lot of different ways. Q. The most common question I get when people ask me, either radio or fans, how do the Warriors deal with LeBron James? And my answer is essentially kitchen sink. Throw as many guys as you can. Am I on the right path? What is your take on that? COACH KERR: It sounds like a good plan (laughing). Think you might swing by my office before the game? No, LeBron is LeBron. He's a champion. He's been in The Finals five years in a row. You know, the best player of this generation, so he poses a lot of problems. So you have to be able to try a lot of different things and hope that some of them work. You have to, you know‑‑ you have to try to slow them down where you can but understand that he's still going to do his damage and you know that going in. Q. I know that Speights is clear, but do you feel that he's game ready? COACH KERR: Yeah, he's ready to go. He's scrimmaged well the last few games ‑‑ or the last few days, excuse me. He looks ready to go, and we'll have to figure out what we're going to do rotation‑wise. It will sort of manifest itself as we go, based on how we're playing. You know, either we get offense or defense or what the match‑ups look like. Q. With all the talk about LeBron, do you feel yourself having to tell your guys that, hey, wait a minute, there are four other guys out there? Or do you think the guys understand that they can't just keep shading toward LeBron? COACH KERR: No, we get it. Our guys have been playing in this league for a long time. I mean, Andre's guarded him for 10 or 11 years, whatever it is, Steph and Klay have been in the league now for, whatever, four or five years, six years. So these guys know what it's about. I mean, every team sort of has a main guy or a couple of main guys and then everything is triggered from that player generally, and that's especially the case with LeBron because he's as powerful and as skilled as he is. Q. As you just alluded to, it's been a dozen years ago since you were last in your Finals, five times, five titles. That wealth of experience, can you talk about‑‑ has that conjured up any message specifically over the past eight days, in particular the last three or four that you've been talking with the team and trying to keep them loose? But giving them some sense of the game itself, not only the pressure, but the excitement and the just to enjoy this moment as much as possible, because obviously it is fleeting? COACH KERR: Yeah, I've shared some thoughts, some memories, some experiences. I had Luke Walton talk to the team a few days ago about his experiences. Four trips to The Finals for Luke. So, yeah, there are a few things that you try to bring up to just get the players prepared for what they're facing. But, ultimately, they've got to feel it. As I said, I just think that once the game starts, everybody will settle in and just play and the chaos will begin anew after the game and in between Games 1 and 2 and beyond. So it's just all part of it. Q. To follow up on that. Can you shed some light on what it's like for you emotionally, mentally, psychologically going into The Finals as a coach compared to as a player? COACH KERR: Well, it's a little different. As a coach, you feel more responsible for more people. As a player, you're kind of trying to take care of yourself and prepare your own mind for what you're facing, and body. But as a coach, you're thinking about everybody. You're thinking about the organization. You're trying to cover all your bases. But the one constant is it's still really fun. You know, it's still really exciting. To be here playing the last two teams standing, it doesn't get much better. So we're excited, and I'm excited. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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