NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAVERICKS VS. WARRIORS

May 26, 2022

Steve Kerr

Golden State Warriors

Game 5: Pregame

Q. What's Otto's status?

STEVE KERR: Otto is out.

Q. You're 8-0 at home in the playoffs. I realize you play each game, but do you feel like there's a home thing building here? Do you feel like your players are feeding off of what's happening?

STEVE KERR: For sure. It's a great home-court advantage. We're very comfortable playing here. Our fans are into it. It's loud. Yeah, we feel like this is a great place for us to be for a playoff game and excited about tonight.

Q. Obviously with Otto out, someone else has to step into those rotational minutes. Is the way that Game 4 went with Jonathan and those guys playing, does Otto's absence open the door for those kind of guys to get some more minutes, or is it just how that game went and maybe that's just --

STEVE KERR: Otto being out is a really big deal. So that opened up the door for more minutes for the guys who came off the bench for sure.

Q. Should you reach the Finals, this franchise will be the first to do it in six out of eight seasons since the '91- 98 Bulls. I understand you haven't reached the Finals yet, so I'll ask, what does it take to sustain this, to compete at this level, and also, to have a trio of players who have been together for ten years to give you a chance to build something?

STEVE KERR: I'll answer that question if we get to that point. As you might expect, I'm locked in on tonight and we've got a lot of work ahead. So we can talk about that one later.

Q. There's a lot being made about the number of blowouts in the playoffs just across the league this postseason. With defenses focusing on the superstars and you have to give up something, it seems like more than ever, the game is kind of predicated on whether the role players are able to make threes. If they make their threes, you win. If they don't, you lose. Have you noticed that and is that a trend that's going to continue?

STEVE KERR: Yeah, the three is just a huge part of the game. Bigger than it ever has been in terms of volume, and I do think the lopsided scores have something to do with that. So the game has been trending this way for over a decade. I think Houston was the first team a few years ago to really go full five out, like Dallas is doing. Imagine you'll see more and more teams doing that in the coming years. It's hard to guard.

Q. What's Otto's status? Too sore today? Any concern beyond that?

STEVE KERR: Just day-to-day. We'll see how he is going forward.

Q. Are there specific things you saw from Kuminga and maybe even Moody, who is kind of in the rotation already, at the end of that game? Are there certain things you always look for and that you saw maybe in that fourth quarter?

STEVE KERR: Well, they were great. They were just part of a group that got momentum. Got stops and got out and did a really good job offensively. It was a really nice way to end what was otherwise a poor night for us.

You need your young guys to experience playoff basketball, and if they can have success, it gives them confidence and it gives me confidence in them. That was sort of the silver lining to Game 4.

Q. Can you tell us what kind of response you've gotten in the last couple days since your pregame comments on gun violence in America, and has anyone asked you if you want to get involved in politics?

STEVE KERR: I've had a lot of people reach out to me, most asking what they can do. And I think that's a really good question.

So many people want to help and want to know how they can make an impact. I thought what Miami did last night was great on the scoreboard.

You know, for whatever reason, it's a political issue, but it's really a public health issue. As soon as we can just shift the dynamic to this being a public health issue, then you get momentum. So what I'm asking people to do is to get involved in their local communities. There's lots of amazing gun safety, gun prevention groups out there. Call your senators. Call your representatives. It's all very helpful. But again, this is -- I've got lots of friends who are Democrats. I've got lots of friends who are Republicans. All I know is they all want gun violence to go away.

We just need to get our public servants to respond to what we all want. I don't know how to do that, but we're going to try.

Q. Seems silly to ask a basketball question, but following up on the earlier question about threes, is there a point where you tell your team or have you ever, okay, we're not making threes tonight, go to the hoop? There's been games in the playoffs, like last night with Miami, where they are shooting so poorly from three that it would seem like an adjustment is necessary. Has that happened much? I know the three is a big part of your team.

STEVE KERR: It can happen. It depends on the opponent. It depends on what's available. You know, sometimes the rim is shut down. Sometimes it's tougher to get to the rim because of the personnel or the style of defense the opponent is playing. So it's not quite that simple.

Our philosophy here has always been, let's get open shots rather than one specific kind of shot. Let's get open shots because that creates rhythm, and then you end up with a variety of good looks.