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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 15, 2016

Steve Kerr

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. You've been a part of the 2-3-2 format as a player. The format this year with two days off between games except 3 and 4, what are the advantages of that situation? And are there drawbacks to having the two days between games?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I don't see any advantages. I see more drawbacks, more travel, for both trips to Cleveland we've come two days in advance. We never do that in the regular season. I understand we're doing this to stretch it out and have more media sessions or whatever. But I just think every other day is the way it should be. But it's not up to me.

Q. Just real quick to that point, in terms of player rest or giving your guys an extra day, is there anything you see there that's noticeable in terms of being a little more fresh?
STEVE KERR: No, no. I think every other day is ideal for players. You get a day off and then these guys are incredible athletes. 48 hours between games is kind of what they're used to during the regular season, and it just seems like this is taking forever.

Q. Saw the news on Andrew. Was there some hope even yesterday that you would get him back for the series? What kind of blow is it to know that he's not playing the rest of the series?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, there was hope. We didn't know what the MRI would show. You never know with this stuff. I was also worried that it would be worse, maybe an ACL or something.

But it's bad news for our team. Boges has made an impact in this series first couple of games. I thought he was really impactful. Last two we played him fewer minutes, but still he's a defensive presence at the rim and rebounder, and a great passer. So we'll miss the minutes that he's been giving us.

Q. Obviously now with Draymond back, we know what he means to the energy and the passion of this team. Is there any concern that it could be too much, that Draymond himself could bring too much? Do you have to discuss that with him about what the limits are and what the levels are of what he's going to bring to this team?
STEVE KERR: He knows that if he gets another flagrant he misses Game 7. He's well aware of that. I'd be shocked if anything happened on that front. I think he feels bad enough as it is about missing Game 5. He's not going to put himself at risk of missing another game.

Q. Last year in Game 6 you did not play Bogut at all even though he was healthy, but you did bring Ezeli off the bench and got really productive minutes from him. I think in about ten minutes he scored 11 points or something like that. What do you see as your role or the role of the bigs now without Bogut?
STEVE KERR: Still important. This is a different series than last year. Last year they were playing Mozgov a ton. Obviously they didn't have Kyrie and Love, so it's different personnel. They didn't have Frye. So it was a different style, it was a different series. But you always need bigs, even if the game is small. We're not going to play small for 48 minutes.

So Festus will play a role, so will Andy. Mo could still get back out there. I thought he did some really good things for us the other night. The boxscore didn't show it. He didn't make his shot, but he did some really good things.

So, again, everybody's got to be ready and everybody plays a role.

Q. How much do you think Festus will be helped by having Draymond on the floor? Those guys seem to work really well together.
STEVE KERR: They do. Everybody's helped with Draymond being on the floor. So that will be nice to have him back. We missed him the other night. We were disappointed in our performance without him. We thought we could still get it done, but we didn't. So now it's time to recharge the batteries and get ready for tomorrow night.

Q. After winning 73 games, will it be a failure if you do not win this Finals series?
STEVE KERR: You guys get to make up that story. So whatever you want to write is fine. I'm not going into that.

Q. Throughout this series you guys have kind of had different guys show up in different games off the bench. You've used pretty much every player. I'm just curious as to some of the thought process behind giving guys like Varejao and McAdoo more minutes when we'll see them not play much for a few games. So I'm curious as to how you have confidence in those guys to step up on the biggest stage?
STEVE KERR: First of all, they're all great players. Everybody in the NBA is a great player, and it's just our philosophy as a staff that if you play guys and give them meaningful minutes throughout the regular season, then they're going to be ready when their time comes in the Playoffs with injuries or matchups or whatever. So we feel like playing everybody empowers them, it makes our team stronger. It creates a stronger bond. And we have confidence that they can all come in and make an impact.

Q. You started Iguodala last game, not saying that it means anything for the next one, but was that generally your reaction to Love getting back into the starting lineup for Cleveland? Was that kind of a chess match there to see who they were starting?
STEVE KERR: Well, yeah, I mean, I think both teams are wary of matchups. You know, just like in every series. So you kind of mix and match based on how you can best counter what your opponent is doing. Both sides are doing that.

With Andre, it's more than anything, without Draymond last game, Andre's one of our best players. He's one of the best players in the league in terms of what he does all around. So with Draymond out, we just felt like we had to have Andre in.

Q. Last question: You mentioned the last game that 3-2 is the same as you were last year going back to Cleveland for Game 6. How much do you want your players picturing those last moments here Game 6 that was here, that locker room, all those things that are in their memory bank?
STEVE KERR: I don't think I have to remind them. We have great memories from last year, memories that will remain forever. I remember all the championship celebrations that I was lucky enough to enjoy as a player. But more than anything, they want to feel it again. Whether it's here or in Oakland, it doesn't matter. Biggest thing is not thinking about last year or thinking about celebrating or thinking about anything other than what we have to focus on. We've made so many mistakes in Game 5. We were poor in so many areas, and yet with five minutes left it's a six-point game.

So we feel like we can do much, much better and our focus is to clean up our mistakes.

Q. How do you view sort of what Festus has provided this series? It seems at times you're uncomfortable to play him and other times he's played pretty well. It seems he brings some of the same things as Bogut in terms of rim protection. Obviously, not a passer. How do you compare their games?
STEVE KERR: Well, Festus hasn't had big minutes in this series. He was important in the first couple of games. I think he played nine or ten minutes in each and made an impact. Then his minutes went down in 3 and 4. But with Bogut out, his minutes will definitely climb, and he gives us a guy who dives hard to the rim on offense and can finish lob dunks and putbacks and that kind of stuff, and really good rim protection.

So I feel very confident playing Festus and he'll be an important role -- he'll play an important role in the rest of the series.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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