NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 1, 2022

Steve Kerr

Golden State Warriors

Media Day

Q. Maybe not specific to this series, but overall, teams have always tried to create mismatches. I wonder when you noticed it evolve into hunting matchups, as opposed to finding a mismatch, and what the differences are in today's NBA?

STEVE KERR: Yeah, it feels like it wasn't this way when I first started coaching eight years ago. I think maybe over the last five or six years, it's gotten more and more popular as we've had more and more three-point shooting, more five-out lineups, because the floor is so open. And all the switching, it's hard to attack switches. I think that's the reason for the hunting over the last few years.

I'm glad they didn't have it like 25 years ago. That wouldn't have gone well for me.

Q. You were able to play against Boston as a player in the playoffs, and this will be your first chance coaching against them in the Finals. As a kid from the Palisades watching Showtime Lakers, how does this sit with you personally, a chance to face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals?

STEVE KERR: Yeah, I grew up watching Magic and Bird go at it in the '80s. I was sitting literally in the last row of the Forum when Kevin McHale took out Kurt Rambis and changed the series. I think that was '84, if I'm not mistaken.

And some of my favorite memories as a player were playing in Boston Garden. I remember starting a game early in my career -- we had a couple guys injured -- and going out to half court and bumping fists. Larry Bird actually said, "Good luck, Steve."

I was like, "You, too, Larry." I was like, what is happening right now? (Laughter.) It was surreal.

It was thrilling to be on the Garden floor. So there's a mystique that exists with the Celtics for sure. Incredible franchise, incredible history. And for me, just having grown up watching those games and being a fan, it's pretty cool to be coaching in the Finals against them.

Q. How do you think you're going to list Payton, Porter and Andre?

STEVE KERR: All three will be questionable. All three took part in our brief scrimmage today, and we'll see how they turn up tomorrow. But it was a good sign that all three were able to have contact today.

Q. How have you seen some of your younger players kind of just handle heading into this circus that is the Finals, the less experienced guys, and even a guy like Andrew, who is a veteran but has not played at this stage before?

STEVE KERR: Today is really the first day that it feels like a circus. The last couple of days have been business as usual. Just normal practice times and film sessions. So we've talked to the group about how different it feels. Our veteran players have addressed the group about the difference in the Finals compared to earlier playoff rounds just in terms of the atmosphere and the vibe.

All you can do is try to prepare for it and try to focus on the game, but there's a lot of fanfare for sure. So hopefully our young guys will adapt quickly.

Q. When you played in this, it was a 2-3-2 format. Since you've coached, it's the 2-2-1-1-1 like the other rounds. What stands out for you thinking of the 2-3-2 situations, in terms of the changeover? And given that we are coast to coast now, how do you weigh the extra air travel compared to the home situation?

STEVE KERR: I like 2-2-1-1-1 better. It's a more fair format. And given that we have a couple of days in between every game, other than 3 and 4, I think both teams will be able to handle the travel.

But it seems like a more fair test. What I remember was anytime a team lost one of the first two at home during that era, it didn't seem right that you had to go on the road and play three straight road games. I think that's why the format was changed back.

Ironically, though, that hardly ever happened where the home team won the middle three. So it was good for travel, but it feels like a more natural flow to go back to 2-2-1-1-1.

Q. So this Celtics team has had a lot of success against you guys over the last couple years, and feels like Marcus Smart has been a constant. You hear the positive things people say around the league, the heart and soul, the defense, Defensive Player of the Year, stuff like that. Can you describe from a basketball sense the impact he has on the game?

STEVE KERR: Yeah, and I coached Marcus in the World Cup a few summers ago, along with Jayson and Jaylen and Kemba. At the time, we had four Celtics on the team. I've gotten to know these guys a little bit; Jayson last year during the Olympics. So it's been fun to get to know them.

But Marcus, I described him yesterday as kind of the guard version of Draymond. He's just all over the place defensively. Really, really smart. Anticipates plays. Understands angles. The versatility to guard 1 through 5. It's all there.

So there's a reason he won Defensive Player of the Year. He's a great, great defender and probably an underrated offensive player as well.

Q. What do you remember from going to the Finals for your first time back in 2015 compared to how you're feeling heading into it now?

STEVE KERR: I think like anything else, the first time you feel something, first time you do something, there's an unknown and a mystery about it, which makes it even more exciting in a lot of ways. You know, the first time that I went to the Finals as a player, it was kinds of the same feeling.

Then if you're lucky enough to do it again, you feel like, all right, I know what to expect. It's a little different vibe, but it's still really exciting to be part of just knowing that this is the pinnacle, this is what we are all trying to accomplish. So to be back here again is an amazing feeling.

Q. Usually I look at matchups between two teams, it's usually David and Goliath, but in this instance, it seems like it's two Davids going toe-to-toe, specifically how you got here. When you look at this matchup against the Celtics, defensively, I feel like they may just be something that's different against elite teams throughout the playoffs. What have you zeroed in on, one, and do you see the similarities between two Davids rather than a David and Goliath?

STEVE KERR: That's my old -- when I was at TNT, I had to think of storylines like that. I don't dive into that kind of thing now. I just, you know, I look at our opponent and I look at our team and I think, how can we try to beat this team?

What I see in Boston is a great defensive team, super athletic. A team that has continuity. They have been in the playoffs year after year with the same core. So it's a team that has worked its way to this point in a very natural, organic way.

Traditionally, this is how it's supposed to work in the NBA. If you look over the years, you grow a team through the draft, you take your lumps through the playoffs, you climb up and then you get to the Finals.

Our team was built somewhat the same way. A couple trips to the playoffs and with some young guys, and gain more and more experience and break through. I think what I like is it's two teams that are mostly built with patience and through the draft and development, player development and continuity. I think that's good for the sport.

Hopefully everybody stays healthy or gets healthy and we have a hell of a series.