Warriors remain calm
Kerr & Co. won’t panic after dropping Game 3
Golden State WarCLEVELAND riors coach Steve Kerr is nothing if not measured.
He was calm last season when the Warriors trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 in the NBA Finals only to reel off three consecutive victories. He was calm as a player, a key three-point threat for those championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
So it was hardly surprising to hear Kerr, a night after his Warriors were thrashed by the Cavaliers, speaking with perspective despite his team’s 30-point loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
“This is what the playoffs are all about,” Kerr said. “The spotlight and the speculation and the criticism and the dramatic change in perception about what’s happening. Fourteen hours ago, 16 hours ago everything was great. We were doing great and, ‘Boy, what are the Cavs going to do? Are they going to get swept?’ They’re a great team, they win a game, now all the sudden it’s lineup changes, and oh my God, Steph Curry, I can’t play well and what’s Klay (Thompson) going to do.”
Despite the lopsided nature of each game — the first three games have been won by an average of 26 points — each team has successfully defended home court. That shouldn’t be surprising given that the Warriors are 11-1 at home this postseason, and the Cavs are 8-0. And yet not two days ago, it was the Cavs’ season that was on life support.
But beyond the extreme nature of each result, whether Kerr will acknowledge it, there is legitimate concern about how the Warriors built their 2-1 lead.
It’s the first time all season Curry has fallen short of 20 points in three consecutive games. He attributed cheap fouls to breaking up his rhythm and forcing him to the bench, but he’s looked nothing like the wizard who averaged 27.9 points in the conference finals. The Cavs’ defensive closeouts on him have been superb, and he hasn’t had much breathing room. Neither has his fellow Splash Brother Thompson, who has had his two worst shooting performances of the postseason in Games 1 and 3 with nine and 10 points, respectively. Thompson, owning the fact that the starters weren’t good enough, vowed Friday would be different.
Curry isn’t immune to the expectations heaped on him as the NBA’s first unanimous MVP. But he’s also not callous enough to bemoan his poor individual effort when he was asked how he would rate his Finals thus far.
“We’re 2-1,” Curry said. “We’re up 2-1 right now, and the story is still unfolding.”