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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORS

May 27, 2016

Steve Kerr

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Practice Day

Q. You talked about win a game and maybe you put the pressure on them. Do you feel now like the pressure turns up on them?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, for sure. When you're trying to get to The Finals and you've got a series lead and you've got a few chances, it's a great position to be in. Obviously, I'd prefer to be in their shoes than ours. But we've won a game and we kind of found ourselves again. We've got some momentum, so we've just got to carry that momentum forward.

Q. You say you found yourselves playing Warriors basketball again. Does that carryover?
STEVE KERR: I think it should and I think it will. We got out of sorts here in Games 3 and 4, but we have a good feel for what we have to do and we'll have a good game plan in place. We've got to play well.

Q. Was the intent to play [Andrew] Bogut as much as he could play [in Game 5] or was it just to see what he would give you?
STEVE KERR: I wanted to play him more the whole series, but this is the first time he hasn't been in foul trouble. He played so well, we just kept him out there. We go into every game with a plan, substitution pattern. It only works about 5% of the time. Things change -- foul trouble, injuries, matchups, whatever. So generally you kind of go with what's working. Boges was fantastic, so we stayed with him.

Q. Draymond [Green] back to his emotional self, got another technical. It's a fine line he has to walk with the way he plays emotionally like that. Is that tough for you to coach?
STEVE KERR: We'd be lost without Draymond, I can tell you that. We need his edge. We need his fire. Every once in a while he spills over the top. He knows that. But we'll take it. He's got to be composed tomorrow night, for sure, especially on the road. And I think we have to play a very poised, disciplined game. That means all of us, but our leaders have to show the way.

Q. Do you ever think about getting a bodyguard for him? A designated guy to pull him away after he gets one T so he doesn't get that second one?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, if that were legal, that would be great. Just have a guy, a sixth man, kind of running up-and-down the sidelines.

Q. That was your first elimination game. Sometimes desperation does different things for different players. You have to be pretty proud of what that team did last night.
STEVE KERR: Yeah, but we should do that. It's not like we're an 8-seed trying to pull off the upset. We're the 1-seed. We're disappointed that we're down 3-2, but we're happy the way we bounced back last night. We've got to try to keep doing it.

Q. Hardly any small ball at all, probably for obvious reasons, but maybe at the very end. Was that a conscious choice that maybe you stay away from small ball in that game?
STEVE KERR: It hasn't been working that well. I still think it can work, but circumstances will dictate that each game. This team we're playing is very long, athletic, great rebounding team, and they're very skilled. So a lot of the advantages that we've had all season long playing that lineup maybe aren't quite there as much.

But I still believe in that lineup. That's the lineup that closed the game last night. But this opponent requires a lot of different looks and different lineups in order to beat them.

Q. Along that same line, do you find yourself in the playoffs playing a lot more chess than you do in the regular season, and making it up on the fly?
STEVE KERR: Oh, yeah, for sure. The regular season you're willing to live with some things. You're trying to develop your players, your team. You're trying to give guys confidence. Look at Billy [Donovan], he's not playing his bench much at all right now. The regular season he was playing those guys a lot more. It's kind of the way it is in the playoffs.

For us, though, we have to play a lot of people because that's kind of who we are. We're playing our bench. We're playing multiple players and trying to get a lot of energy off the bench. Last night our bench was great. But, yeah, the playoffs you're always trying to stay a step ahead and trying as much as you can.

Q. Is that something you do in like the timeout huddles with the coaches before you meet with players, or on the bench as the game's going on?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, we're talking lineups all the time, and the players are talking amongst themselves. We ask them what they think at times. There is a group effort going.

Q. Do you think you've found some things, whether it's with lineups or matchups, that maybe slowed down some of those ancillary guys that have been hurting you?
STEVE KERR: We changed our matchups a little bit, but mainly we just played better. We were more focused, more locked in, tougher, and we're going to have to be better tomorrow night on their home floor.

Q. Did Bogut tell you that he shouldn't go in for [Marreese] Speights after Speights hit that shot?
STEVE KERR: No, no, I had told him we were going to put him in soon. I didn't tell him exactly when. We wanted to run a play for Mo. Mo hit the shot, and Bogut stood up and said, "Now?" And I said, "No, give him another minute or two." Then we went back to Boges at that point.

Q. You took Steph [Curry] out in the first quarter, which you usually don't do. Was that to get him shorter minutes at a time for him? Or what was the reasoning for that?
STEVE KERR: He looked maybe a little winded. And again, I like playing a lot of people. I like keeping our starters fresh, if possible, and I felt good about the way things were going. So I tried to buy him a couple minutes there. L.B. [Leandro Barbosa] did a great job. He came in and made two steals in a row. I think if you look at the way that game went, it's kind of indicative of what we've done all year. Playing a lot of people and getting a lot of different contributions.

Q. I don't know if you saw, it was made a big deal when [Russell] Westbrook and [Kevin] Durant were asked if Steph was underrated as a defender and Westbrook did chuckle and kind of talked around it with Durant. Are you bothered by something like that? Do you think Steph is bothered by something like that?
STEVE KERR: You can ask Steph. That stuff doesn't bother me.

Q. Is he underrated as a defender?
STEVE KERR: Steph can be a very good defender. Sometimes he picks his spots, but he can be very good. He's very smart. He's quick. He beats people to spots. I thought he was really good last night defensively. The game before, not so much. So he knows he's got to pick up the defense and have it at a high level tomorrow.

Q. Do you think there was anything with the crowd here in OKC that helped rattle you guys a little bit or was it you just didn't play well?
STEVE KERR: We didn't play well. But their home crowd is great, just like ours is. And momentum, when you're playing well, and you've got the crowd behind you, it is important. It makes it that much more important for us to play a really clean, solid game.

Q. You asked for the crowd early. Did you feel that? Did you feel it was an upgrade from the previous two?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I thought it was great. I thought the previous two were great too. It's just that because of the early start, we had some late arrivals. But it looked better to me last night in terms of the seats being filled. I feel bad for people. I mean, a 6 o'clock start in the Bay Area, people trying to drive across the bridge, it's a nightmare. But it's done obviously for TV purposes and there is nothing we can do about it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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