Warriors let players run huddle in blowout
The Golden State Warriors remain the heavy favourites to repeat as NBA champions.
That’s what happens when you have two of the four or five best players in the league on the same side, along with many other excellent players, a strong coaching staff and one of the best homecourt advantages in the sport.
The team has won 77% of its games, with Monday’s 12983 beat-down of Phoenix being the latest easy triumph.
That game was such a rout that head coach Steve Kerr let players Andre Iguodala, David West and Draymond Green take over running huddles at certain points. Green sat out due to a finger injury, but was heavily involved in the coaching process.
Golden State became the first team with two wins by at least 40 points in consecutive seasons.
The Warriors had coasted a bit recently, losing 3-of-4 before rallying to win three in a row and Kerr said the players needed to “take ownership” of things.
Kerr said he told Phoenix interim head coach Jay Triano that the move wasn’t a sign of disrespect but rather, “It had to do with me reaching my team. I have not reached them for the last month,” Kerr said, via ESPN.
“They’re tired of my voice. I’m tired of my voice. It’s been a long haul these last few years and I wasn’t reaching them, and we just figured it was probably a good night to pull a trick out of the hat and do something different.”
But the move wasn’t well-received in all corners.
Veteran Jared Dudley said it showed a lack of respect for the Suns, before adding that maybe the Suns don’t deserve respect because of how badly they have been playing recently.