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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 5, 2016

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Game Two

Warriors 110, Cavaliers 77

Q. Second quarter early you're down 6 or so, not looking great, and then you go on a 19-2 or 20-2 run there, most of it without Steph. What was going on? What did you think the key to that surge was?
COACH KERR: Well, our defense was the key to everything tonight. Our offense was not very good. We had a lot of careless turnovers, but we had a good stretch there where we converted some stops into scores. I think Steph and Klay both hit threes during that time.

Then of course we didn't close the half very well. I think we went from up 15 to up 8 in the last two minutes. But that second-quarter stretch was important as was the third-quarter stretch after Steph picked up his fourth.

But everything was about our defense tonight, and I was pleased with that, but we've got to get better offensively when we go to Cleveland for sure.

Q. And how much of it was Draymond's shooting? Some of those shots may not have been the ones you love, but once he starts taking them and making them, I assume you're okay with it?
COACH KERR: The only one I didn't love was the one off the dribble from the top of the key that he made. The other ones were all great. The way they're playing defense against our guards, Draymond's going to be open all day. So he's a good three-point shooter. We like it when he gets that shot in rhythm, and he knocked them down tonight.

Q. What specifically on defense did you guys do so well today that really swung the game and made it go in your favor?
COACH KERR: Well, we're just playing hard. We're competing and our guys are making good decisions, talking, trying to take away the things that they like to do and stay solid.

You have to be able to help on LeBron and get back out to shooters, and it's a very difficult job, and our guys did a good job of that today.

Q. Considering your team had some pretty lopsided losses on the road in the last round, it's a good reminder that this series is not over yet.
COACH KERR: Well, it's 2-0, so we did our job. We won our two home games. And, yeah, there is obviously a long way to go, so we're not celebrating.

Q. Was the 3-1 series being down -- that is, against the Thunder -- was that a blessing in disguise? Because it seems like your guys are playing with a sense of urgency, even a guy like Andrew Bogut had five blocks in less than 15 minutes tonight, it's something that we hadn't seen in a while.
COACH KERR: Well, I think the Oklahoma City series definitely made us stronger. It wasn't a whole lot of fun, and we barely escaped. But I think we were able to sort of capitalize on the momentum that we built during that series, and by winning those three in a row, we've been able to carry it over to this series so far.

We're in a good spot, but, again, we've got to go out on the road and try to get another win.

Q. Another great game for your bench. You as a bench player won all those championships. Do you feel that gives you something in terms of how you communicate for your guys that continue to produce for you at a high level, because you have the experience in terms of the way to get the most out of them?
COACH KERR: I have a lot of empathy for bench players having been one myself. It's a hard job to stay ready and sometimes not play. We have a group of real pros on the bench. Guys like Mo Speights who it hasn't been his series so far because of match-ups, but he always stays ready. Barbosa, Livingston, obviously Andre is one of the best players in the league when we bring him off the bench.

So we have a very professional group. They stay ready, and we're lucky to be versatile and have a lot of options at our disposal, and our guys all stay ready for when they get their name called.

Q. Talking about bench players, you are relying on Andre Iguodala a lot. Can you tell us what he did tonight to deserve so many minutes?
COACH KERR: Well, we want Andre on the floor as much as possible. He's not only one of our smartest players, he's one of the smartest players in the league. And he's a great defender. You have to guard LeBron, and he's our best option on LeBron. And he also handles the ball and makes a lot of great decisions.

I was thrilled with Andre's game, and he did a fantastic job.

Q. Steve, two questions for you. First of all, LeBron 7 for 17 and 7 turnovers, seemed to struggle especially close to the basket. What was it that made it so difficult for him as he got into the paint tonight?
COACH KERR: We just tried to be as active as possible. We have a lot of speed on our team and like-sized players who we can kind of help and recover and switch. And it's a very difficult job because LeBron is so smart that he sees everything before it happens, and sometimes if you switch, he'll read that and find somebody for a lay-up or he'll attack at the exact right time to expose our defense.

And I just thought our guys did as good a job as we possibly could in terms of trying to cover him in penetration and stay with shooters at the same time.

Q. We know Draymond is your emotional leader on almost any night. He was so much more than that tonight. He was channelling Steph a little bit with his three-point shots. What kind of things did he do to add value tonight beyond being the emotional leader?
COACH KERR: Well, everything. Draymond does everything for us. He defends. When we play our small lineup, he's our rim protector. It's a tough job in this series because he has to guard Kevin Love who is usually spaced out at the three-point line. So he's got to pick his spots, how to help and try not to stray too far away from Love and still be able to help out on LeBron. So it's a difficult job.

But I thought Draymond was great. Obviously he knocked down his three-point shots tonight, which is just a bonus. But he's always one of our most important players and had a heck of a game.

Q. These are the NBA Finals, theoretically the best against the best. You've won these games by 15 and 33. On any level are you surprised?
COACH KERR: I'm definitely surprised at the margin of victory tonight. But we've been on the other end of it. Two weeks ago we were on the other end of it twice in a row in Oklahoma City. So it happens in the NBA. Sometimes things get away from you, sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don't.

So, I remember years ago Danny Ainge had a great line after his team when he was playing with Boston and his team won by like 35, and they asked him about it, and Danny said it's not the Tour de France, you know? We don't start out with like a two and a half minute lead the next leg. It's 2-0. Everything changes when we go to Cleveland. We know that. We have unbelievable respect for this team, and we've got to go on the road and try to do it again.

Q. I wanted to go a little bit deeper on that, though. Since we gathered here Wednesday for Media Day, listening to your guys, they've expressed like a supreme confidence in the game plan and just whatever Cleveland might show, and then you've gone out and proved that comfort level correct. That's seven wins now over LeBron and the Cavs. What is it or why is it that this team is so comfortable playing against LeBron?
COACH KERR: We're not comfortable playing against LeBron, to be honest with you. We're comfortable as a team playing together. We're comfortable with our ability to defend. We're comfortable with our ability to create offense off of our defense because of the shooting and the playmaking that we have.

And I would say we're confident that we can beat anybody. But we're definitely not comfortable playing against LeBron. He's obviously one of the great players in the history of this game, and we've had success the first two games, but there's a lot of basketball left.

Q. Just to follow up on Draymond Green. Obviously his shot was falling, but this seemed to be the most poised I've seen him in quite a while. Just one turnover in this game. Can you talk about his decision-making and the impact he had on the team and his approach?
COACH KERR: Yeah, well, again, the way they're guarding us, Draymond's open a lot. So he becomes our safety valve when there's pressure. He becomes an open shooter when they're jumping out at Steph or Klay.

So it's a good situation for him. It's just the way the series has played out so far. He's been in a pretty comfortable position. We like to play him at the top of the key as a passer, as a shooter, and so far he's been in a good spot. He's done a nice job of navigating when to shoot, when to pass. And as you said, one turnover for a guy who handles the ball so much is great.

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