Coach pushed the right buttons

After 2-year absence from playoffs, Warriors’ bench boss directs team to title

Just roll out the basketball and let ’em play? Hardly.

Steve Kerr might have conquered his biggest challenge this season as Golden State Warriors head coach. He took a team two years removed from having the league’s worst record … tried to develop young players while simultaneously chasing a championship with his veteran core … reshaped point guard Stephen Curry’s playing rotation while waiting for guard Klay Thompson to return after a 941-day absence … and boldly sat Draymond Green in the fourth quarter of a really-need-to-win Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

And there stood Kerr last week in Boston, clutching the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the

in his extraordinary career.

Kerr’s latest title as Warriors head coach vividly illustrated his value — his people skills, his willingness to experiment, his poise in tense moments and emotion at other times. They all blended together as he guided Golden State, once a leaguewide joke, to its fourth NBA championship in eight years.

Yes, it helps immensely to have Curry on your side — Kerr eagerly reminds everyone of that — but even No. 30 alone does not fully explain this remarkable Warriors run. They went 16-6 in their latest march through the playoffs, boosting Kerr’s career postseason record to 93-34 (.732).

That’s the best all-time winning percentage among coaches with at least 100 playoff games, ahead of Phil Jackson (.688), Billy Cunningham (.629), Pat Riley (.606) and Gregg Popovich (.599).

“Man, you’re talking about one of the greatest coaches of all time,” forward Andrew Wiggins said after the Warriors won the title. “The way he challenges his players but supports them, it’s amazing. He gives his players confidence and puts them in position to succeed. So I’m definitely thankful for Steve Kerr.”

Kerr did more mixing and matching this season than earlier in his coaching career. He acknowledged the Warriors essentially were “untouchable” for the three seasons with AllStar forward Kevin Durant alongside their core of Curry/ Thompson/Green, but 2021-22 marked a very different journey. Thompson did not make his long-awaited return until Jan. 9, nearly three months into the season. The Warriors still started smoking hot — 18-2, then 27-6 — in part because Kerr tweaked his substitution pattern to keep Curry on the court with the second unit more than usual.

Then, with Thompson back in the lineup, Kerr had to manage third-year guard Jordan Poole’s role. Poole emerged into a burgeoning star this season, but he occasionally struggled when coming off the bench. Kerr helped make it work.

He also juggled the tricky quest of developing rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses

Moody, tantalizing pieces for the future but not quite ready for heavy minutes; found ways to integrate veteran newcomers Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II and Nemanja Bjelica; and navigated through injuries to Green and Curry during the season’s second half.

Or, for a fresher example, consider center Kevon Looney. He was Golden State’s iron man this season, playing in all 104 games. Kerr still left Looney out of the starting lineup for most of the Memphis series and the last three games of the Finals. Kerr wanted more defense against the Grizzlies (Payton) and more floor spacing against the Celtics (Porter).

And when the Warriors realized they needed size in Game 6 against Memphis? Looney rejoined the lineup and corralled 22 rebounds. Kerr also stuck with Looney in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Finals, instead of Green, because the lineup on the court was humming.

This speaks to Kerr’s trust in evaluating the game he’s watching, rather than sticking to a pre-determined plan, and also trust in his assistant coaches. Kerr sets aside his ego and listens to the assistants, or veterans such as Curry and Green (who lobbied for Looney’s return against the Grizzlies).

Also, do not dismiss the impact of Kerr’s occasional outbursts. He offered a pointed response after Payton broke his elbow May 3, saying Memphis’ Dillon Brooks “broke the code” with his flagrant foul. Warriors players also noticed Kerr’s anger and emotion during his pregame news conference May 24, after the tragic school shooting hours earlier in Uvalde, Texas.

Just as important, he projected poise when the Warriors twice fell behind in the Finals. His players similarly stayed composed, cranked up their defense and won three consecutive games to take the title.

This is becoming habit for Kerr, dating to his 1990s days playing with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

“Just hanging around the right people,” Kerr said, smiling. “You hang around superstars long enough, you’re going to get some residual success.”

Or maybe he’s just a winner.