Durant, new-look Warriors ready to reclaim crown
SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his new-look team is relishing the pressure entering their 2016-2017 NBA campaign opener on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors’ blockbuster offseason move for Kevin Durant has made the already formidable-looking Dubs an even more daunting proposition as they set out to regain their NBA Finals crown.
Kerr, however, said Monday his team of all-stars welcomed the burden of expectation that comes with being able to field a team with Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the line-up.
The experienced coach suggested the pressure could even motivate his team towards surpassing last term’s record- breaking unbeaten start to the season, when the Warriors went 24-0.
“We all have pressure,” Kerr told reporters. “But that’s a good thing. The alternative is, hey, maybe we can win 30 this year instead of 25.
“A lot of the teams in the league have that, teams that have gone through rebuilding stuff, and they’re trying to get where we are.
“So we’re in a really enviable position, we know how lucky we are to be together with this group. We understand the responsibility that comes with it.
“But that’s fine, that’s a good position to be in.”
A sell- out crowd will pack Oakland’s Oracle Arena to watch the competitive Warriors debut of Durant, who has rapidly blended into the Golden State setup following his arrival from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He still has some learning to do. But he has really picked up on just kind of the way we play. There’s a little chaos but there’s some pattern to the chaos and I think he’s embracing the chaos, for sure,” Kerr told reporters.