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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 6, 2015Steve KerrOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day Q. You've talked to your team throughout the season about maybe guarding against letdowns when a top player from the other team has been injured. Do you bring that up this time or is it a case where it's the NBA Finals and it's obvious? COACH KERR: If we have a letdown in The Finals, there is something fundamentally flawed with us each individually and as a team. There is no way that can possibly happen, right? I mean, we're lucky to be up 1‑0. We're one inch away from being down 1‑0. Shumpert's shot looked like it was in the whole way. We made a ton of mistakes in Game 1. This is a team that got to The Finals beating the No. 1 seed the East without Kyrie for a couple games.  The challenge is still enormous. There's still so much for us to cover and deal with. Yeah, I mean, there's not any threat of anything like that. Q. Just to piggyback on that a little bit. During the regular season there were a couple of those games where a star player was missing and there were letdowns. Then you guys got past it. Was there anything specific that you did to get through that? COACH KERR: No. The regular season is so different. It's such a grind. There's just nights where you just can't muster up the energy. You try, but there are things that happen that lead to sort of easing off the gas pedal. But, come on. It's the NBA Finals. Q. Coach, you limited them to, I think, 1‑for‑11 shooting on second chances in the first game. Was there any sort of particular emphasis on stopping them after they got offensive rebounds, or did you just kind of get lucky in that regard? COACH KERR: It's all coaching. All coaching. I just told them when they get a rebound, don't let them score, and that's what our guys did. They always follow my instructions. No, our focus is on the offensive rebound itself. I mean, we want to limit their second chances. Obviously they're a great rebounding team. They crushed us in the first quarter. They kept getting second opportunities and they missed some shots. They had some wide‑open ones that they missed, and we were lucky. So it wasn't anything we did. But what we did do was a much better job on the glass after the first quarter. Q. As we know, Steph Curry can make a shot from just about anywhere as we've seen in these playoffs. But it seems ever since he made that shot against New Orleans from the left corner, he's developed something magical in that corner. I think he's made 12 in a row, 13 out of 14 for the playoffs. Can shooters develop a hot spot and can you ride that? As a shooter yourself, what are your thoughts on that? COACH KERR: I think everybody, when you're a shooter, you have kind of favorite spots on the floor, and Steph obviously feels comfortable over there. But that's a remarkable number. But it's Steph. You get to the point where nothing shocks you anymore because he is such a good shooter. Just so happens he's had a few open ones from that side and he's in a zone over there. Q. As a former teammate of Michael Jordan and now you've coached Steph Curry, do you have any appreciation for the pressures and everything else that goes into being a forward‑facing person of the league or a superstar? And can you‑‑ having known that from Michael, can you do anything to alleviate that for Steph or guide him through this process? COACH KERR: Not really. To me it's a pretty natural burden for Steph to take on. It's definitely a big burden. LeBron's had it for years. Michael, obviously, carried it for more than a decade and Magic and Larry. I mean, they've all been through that, and Steph is entering that realm this year. But he's built for it. He's unbelievably grounded and takes everything in stride. He's humble and yet incredibly confident in his game. So when the critique comes, a couple bad games and people are picking apart his game or whatever, his life, doesn't seem to affect him. Q. How did Andre's willingness to come off the bench this year maybe set the tone for what you guys have been able to accomplish? COACH KERR: I think there is a lot of truth to that. We have a lot of depth. Depth is great as long as guys are willing to sacrifice, and it's not easy to sacrifice in the NBA because careers are at stake, money is at stake, egos. That's, I think, what separates a lot of the really good teams and teams like ours who have made deep championship runs. When you're in The Finals, you don't get that far without that kind of sacrifice. Andre set the tone in training camp, for sure. I think it's been kind of a‑‑ I guess something that our other players noticed and recognized and respected so much that everybody else can't help but to follow suit. Q. For guys like McAdoo and Kuz, what can they gain from this experience when they're not getting the same kind of play opportunities that the other guys are? COACH KERR: Well, you just feel it. Even if you're not playing, you feel the playoffs, especially The Finals. Everything is chaotic. Just to be a part of it, even if you're not getting in the game, I think it helps. It's just once you are in that spot, and hopefully both guys will be, hopefully we all will be. But I think as they continue to develop and play more and become bigger‑‑ a bigger part of the rotation, they'll look back at this and take from it. Q. Earlier in the free agency you guys targeted Shaun Livingston, I guess to bring him in here. What's he done for this team and how has he helped you guys get to where you are right now? COACH KERR: Well, I think Bob Myers and his staff have done a great job the last few years, long before I got here, of building a roster that fits the modern NBA. Versatility, length on the wings, the ability to guard multiple positions. So we already had Harrison and Draymond and Andre and Klay. I'm probably missing somebody even. But to add Shaun to that list has been great for us because we can play him with a lot of different people. We can switch defensively with him. He just fits our group with his character and his unselfishness. His story is remarkable, coming back from just a horrific injury. And I think guys take a lot of inspiration from Shaun for his perseverance in his own career. It all adds up. When you have multiple guys like that who have that type of work ethic and care that much about the game and each other, it builds something that's special. Q. From your experience of playing, management and now coaching, how difficult is it to go up against those teams where they feel like they have nothing to lose? It's like those teams that have their backs against the wall? COACH KERR: Yeah, the dynamics change. Obviously, in this case with Kyrie going out. But in any case where there is an injury and a key player goes out, it's not just what happens on the floor. It's how does the psyche change? That's something that the only way we can really address that is just reminding our guys they're still a great team. They won two games against Atlanta without Kyrie. They're still loaded with talent. They're going to be loose. Now all the spotlight is going to be on this injury and all that stuff. It can't affect us. We just go out and play and we've got to do our thing. We've got to worry about our own game. We can play a lot better. We know that. We didn't play particularly well in Game 1, so our focus is keep improving. Q. What was it like for you coaching your first Finals game as opposed to playing? And did Phil contact you before The Finals to talk and give you some encouragement or something? COACH KERR: Yeah, Phil and I have remained in touch. He sent me a couple emails and he wished me well. The game itself was really fun. After the first few minutes with all the fanfare and everything, it felt like a normal game. Obviously, more at stake, but I think it probably felt the same way to our players. You settle in, the game's the same, you just go. You do your thing. I'm enjoying it. I thought it was a lot of fun. We were fortunate to win. But this is something we're all excited about to be a part of this. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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