	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 30, 2019

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Game Two

Warriors - 115, Rockets - 109

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Steve, early in the game when the three-pointers weren't falling, how important especially was the offensive rebounding and just the effort?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I thought we played really hard right from the beginning. We forced a lot of turnovers, got to the loose balls, got some rebounds.

Even though the threes weren't going, we were playing well. We were making strides, putting a lot of pressure on them. It was a good start to the game.

Q. Especially with the last series where you lost two of three at Oracle, how important was it to take care of business at home, especially with a matchup like?
STEVE KERR: I mean, this is always what you want to do. When you have home court, if you can get the first two, it puts you in good shape, with the awareness that you're just getting started, nothing has happened yet. We got to go down to Houston and be ready to play because we know how good they are, we know how hard they're going to play.

Q. Steph's finger, did it look bad there? Did you maybe notice he was having a little trouble dribbling?
STEVE KERR: It looked bad when he came off the floor. I looked at the finger, I was hoping it was just a dislocation and not a break. Fortunately that's what it turned out to be.

As far as whether it bothered him, you can ask him that. I thought he did some great things for us and fueled us. May not have shot the three that well, but played a great game for us.

Q. In light of what was happening in Game 1 about the conversation with the officiating, how do you think the guys handled all those things tonight?
STEVE KERR: I didn't even notice the officiating. I don't think anybody did. I think that's the best compliment you can give them.

They did a great job. This game was just about basketball.

Q. As much emphasis as you've put on taking care of the ball, how much did you like that you cut the turnovers down?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, we did a really good job with that. Only 12 for the game. Three of them in the last couple of minutes, which was a little disappointing. We escaped. We have to do a better job of protecting the ball.

Both games now we've had a little bit of a problem there. All in all, to finish the game with 12 turnovers to their 18, 18 offensive boards, so we won the possession battle. Got 14 more field goal attempts than them. That's a big deal.

Our guys did a great job.

Q. Can you articulate what makes Draymond so good at that lob pass.
STEVE KERR: Yeah, well, he's grown so comfortable playing that high screen with Steph. With the amount of attention Steph gets, sometimes Draymond gets that ball in the pocket and it's four-on-three. With the lineup, with Andre out there, with two shooters on the wings, it puts a lot of stress on the defense. Draymond has great touch on that lob pass.

It's fun to see when they connect like that.

Q. You've had times when you weren't thrilled with the defensive intensity to start a game. Forced nine turnovers in the first quarter. Had to be happy.
STEVE KERR: Yeah, defensive intensity right away was great. I was really pleased with our first quarter. I thought the Rockets did a great job of hanging in there, especially when James got hurt and missed some time.

I think this is how this series is going to go. We can play well, but it's going to be really hard to pull away from Houston with the number of threes they take and the number of talented offensive players they have.

Despite that quick start, we were fighting them off the whole game. They made 17 threes. Hell of a win against a great team that shot the ball really well from the three-point line.

Q. You mentioned Andre playing so well. He seemed to come out really fast this game and give you that burst.
STEVE KERR: Andre, he doesn't look 35 to me. He's just an incredible athlete. What makes Andre special is when you combine that athleticism with that brain, now you got a hell of a player.

I say it all the time: I'm lucky to coach him, we're lucky to have him. He ties up a lot of loose ends for us. He does so many things for us. I thought he was brilliant tonight.

Q. You go with Jerebko. It was early because of Steph's injury. Did you have a plan to get him in there? How did you think he did?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I think Jonas is a good matchup in this series. I think he came right in and gave us a good lift, a couple buckets, some rebounds. We were planning on getting him in there at some point. Steph's early injury allowed us to plug him in pretty early. I thought he was great.

Q. Have you ever played after getting poked in the eye?
STEVE KERR: No.

Q. Never mind then.
STEVE KERR: Tough to get poked in the eye when you're on the bench cheering, so... Usually just cheering the guys on. I think one time my teammate kind of elbowed me cheering, kind of hurt (laughter).

Q. You have really taken away the lobs. How important has that been for you guys defensively? Have you put an emphasis on that?
STEVE KERR: It's a big deal. Capela is tough to handle on that rim run because of talent in the backcourt with Chris and James especially throwing that lob to him. I thought Draymond and Kevin in particular both did a great job. Klay made a huge play late by coming over from the weak side.

I've said it before the series: it has to be a five-man game when you play Houston to guard them. You have to have all five guys engaged. Our weak side came over and did a good job tonight.

Q. Steph had five fouls and Kevin did, too. What about their game defensively?
STEVE KERR: They were both great. The foul trouble is what it is. There's some tough ones. We're playing a very crafty team that knows how to draw fouls. Steph got himself in a couple of awkward positions and picked up a couple that changed our rotation in the third quarter. Our guys did a good job of playing through that.

I'm confident we can get Steph to correct that and stay on the floor when we need him out there.

Q. You jumped into this series quickly after the Clippers series. These games were quick also. Would this be the game you would be concerned about fatigue? You have a rest after this. Was that a concern?
STEVE KERR: Not really. I was more worried about Game 1 just because of the two injuries with Steph and Klay. When we made it through Game 1 in good shape, I felt much better about coming into tonight. Now we have a few days off which I think will really help our guys.

We're in good shape, but long, long way to go.

Q. What was your view on the double technical with Draymond?
STEVE KERR: The problem with the double tech is that it's added to the total, which can lead to a suspension. It's a competitive atmosphere out there. It's a playoff game. Guys are going to get tangled up. If the way to handle it is to call a double technical, I think the league needs to consider that.

Every time there's an altercation, it's a double technical. If you're playing in the playoffs for a few rounds, those add up. Draymond is now at four, I think. We'll talk to the league and we'll see if they'll rescind it. I'm sure the process will go as usual and we'll see what happens.

Q. With Durant coming out of the gates taking the charge against Harden, then getting the block, how important was setting a tone defensively?
STEVE KERR: Kevin was great. I mean, right away picking up Capela in the lane on a roll, forcing a travel, drawing the charge. I thought his defensive energy was fantastic right away.

He's Kevin, so he's going to score. We know he's going to score. He does so much more to impact the game, the blocked shots, the rebounds, assists. He's an amazing player.

Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297