	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: ROCKETS vs WARRIORS

April 29, 2019

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. What do you think about the noise that's coming out of Houston's camp?
COACH KERR: It's disappointing because the focus should be on two teams that played extremely hard. Watching the tape, both teams just got after it and competed.

But we just watched the tape upstairs. You don't think there were 10 calls that we thought we got fouled? This is how it goes. And every coach in the league will tell you the same thing -- you watch the tape and you go, that's a foul, that's a foul.

It's the nature of the game. It's very, very difficult to officiate an NBA game. There's all kinds of gray area. And in the modern game, a lot of players have gotten really good at deception, creating contact and -- I don't remember people following down on 3-point shots all the time when I played.

It was a different rule. Once you release the ball, you were allowed to make contact and there was no foul. But the game has gotten -- there's so much deception as part of it, as part of the game that it's very, very difficult to officiate.

But every coach in the league will tell you, you watch the tape afterwards you think, man, we got screwed. The reality is that you get some, you lose some. The refs do the best job they can and you move on to the next game.

So I'm disappointed that this has become the whole narrative when it really should be about two great teams competing against each other.

Q. Steph did say that he went and studied before you guys did it as a group --
COACH KERR: He went and studied --

Q. He went and studied every one of James' 3s from last night to have a better feel going into Game 2. Is that just him doing his homework?
COACH KERR: Yeah, all our guys get personnel tapes before the series starts and guys who they're going to guard and so that they're familiar with their patterns and their moves.

So that's a veteran player just doing his job. Then we do it as a team as well, try to pick out what we did well, what we did poorly, try to get better each game.

Q. Specific to Harden, how do you prepare the group for the way he jumps and the way he comes down after shots?
COACH KERR: Well, it's tricky. Obviously he's a great player. He creates a lot of space. So you have to try to challenge without fouling. So there's different ways you can try to do it. There's different options, but it's a difficult job. He's the best step-back 3-point shooter ever.

So it's not an easy job. And we just gotta keep doing the best we can and keep the pressure on. And we feel like our defense is good enough where we can force a lot of misses. He's going to make some. But we feel we can force some misses and then we've got to rebound and run.

Q. What do you think the result of all this lobbying and narrative about officiating will be on the game tomorrow?
COACH KERR: I don't think there will be any result. The referees do their job. People lobby the league all the time. This was a very public way of doing it. But people send in clips of a previous game. There's kind of a process where if you have a complaint you complain to the league.

So it's rarely done this publicly, but the refs are going to do their job. As I said, did they miss some calls for Houston? Absolutely. They missed some for us, too.

I don't know, I've been part of six teams as a player and now two as an executive or coach. And all eight of those teams have gotten screwed by the refs (laughter) -- all eight of them.

Q. It must be you.
COACH KERR: It's gotta be me. (Laughter).

Q. Our Houston affiliate wants to ask about Nene and the contributions he's making. What do you have to do on the court (indiscernible)?
COACH KERR: I thought Nene really played really well last night. He's an old-school, powerful center who can score inside. And it's a little bit of a surprise to see him. I think that was a decision that Mike made that -- one of those calls you make where you probably debated in the room and decided to go a certain way. And I thought he played well.

Q. (Indiscernible) the energy and the effort on both ends last night, not so much some of the turnovers, but it seems like the last few games you've built little more momentum?
COACH KERR: The energy is good. The effort is amazing. The execution was lacking. And our guys know that. They knew it last night. We reinforced it in the film session.

And that's where we've got to clean up -- 20 turnovers, a lot of them unforced. When you're playing a great team, you can't live with that. You can't get away with that too often.

So we're really having to get out of Game 1 with a win, coming off that Clipper series so quickly. I don't know, 40 hours after, whatever it was. So now we've got a lead, but there's a long way to go and we've got to tighten up our game.

Q. Did the math play out in your guys' favor in terms of not making the large volume of 3s and just doing well offensively? What do you think is the key in getting through that in the series?
COACH KERR: Getting through?

Q. Just the equation of that, determining 3s and the usage of them and other shots.
COACH KERR: Just gotta score more points however you get there. And the two teams have very different philosophies and different personnel.

So I think Houston does a great job playing to their personnel. We try to do the same thing. And they're going to shoot more 3s than we are. We're going to try to get better looks from 2. And however the math plays out, there's only one number that matters at the end and that's who scores more points.

Q. You have, obviously, between-games lobbying right now. You have rule interpretation. You have constant complaining on the court. How awful a job do referees have?
COACH KERR: I don't know why anyone would want to be a ref, honestly. But they kind of know what they're getting into when they're training to be refs. All you have to do is watch a game and how intense and competitive NBA playoff games are.

So those guys are going to be under the microscope. We know that. Now that you've got reviews and social media and everything else, they're on the spot. And as I said, there's so much gray area in this game and they're going to miss some for both teams and get some right for both teams. They're going to do their best. We're going to compete. Whoever wins, wins. But that's all there is to it.

Q. Is there too much complaining these days on the court?
COACH KERR: Yeah. Our guys and me too, we complain an awful lot. There's a lot at stake. And Draymond's already got three technicals. I think Kevin has a couple.

So we've got to find a way to compete and walk that line without crossing the line and being too demonstrative and too emotional on the sidelines and on the court.

Q. Why do you think it's worse now?
COACH KERR: I'm not sure it's worse. It's always been -- I just think there's more exposure. There's more media outlets. There's more technology -- every single play in a playoff game, there's so many different angles and those angles immediately are put on social media. And the fire burns a lot quicker; a brush fire starts and it's out of control. And here we are today, the whole story is about some missed calls.

And, again, like, we didn't get any missed calls? Like every missed call went their way? Come on.

Q. How much ref lobbying and complaining and stuff was there in the '90s, do you remember?
COACH KERR: I don't remember because -- well, on the court there was plenty. I don't remember the process. I don't know if there was a protocol where you could send in plays back in the '90s.

But the league tries to do the best they can and cover their bases with all that stuff and be fair to everybody. But that's a tough job.

Q. Any memorable moves or hustles (indiscernible), players getting a foul back in the day?
COACH KERR: I don't think there was nearly as much of that as there is now. Play was -- it was a much more condensed game; you didn't have the spacing you have today. So you didn't have as many driving lanes. You had teams trying to get out in transition, but you had a lot of wrestling matches.

And one of the reasons the league decided to change the rules where some of those Finals games in the late '90s, mid to late '90s, I played in a lot of them, like, 78-73. It was just a wrestling match the whole way.

So the league has really favored the offensive player over the last 15 years and the way the rules are written. So you're able to get away with more. And as players have been able to get away with more, they've manipulated the game into really a perimeter game. It's become much more perimeter-oriented than on the inside.

These guys are all smart. I'm not talking about one -- I'm talking about the whole league. Guys are really, really clever, and they do their best to get a call and why wouldn't they.

Q. How are Klay and Steph holding up with their ankles?
COACH KERR: They're good.

They both seem good today. They'll get some treatment and couple days' rest and play tomorrow night.

Q. How much did those initial minutes, when you subbed in Looney for the first time -- he kind of kept that level, makes three quick shots. I know he does that. But that seemed like a key stretch.
COACH KERR: Yeah, Looney has been great throughout the playoffs and gave us another big lift last night and does a great job defending without fouling, getting some key buckets hanging around the rim. Very, very smart player. He sees and feels the game kind of like Andre does. He knows what he's doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297