Celtics’ summer fling
Shamrock 4 familiar with Warriors’ coach Kerr from Team USA
SAN FRANCISCO — There was so much Pop talk with the Celtics who played for Team USA last summer, but there were other coaches on that squad not named Gregg Popovich. And the Celts were facing one of them Friday night in Golden State’s Steve Kerr.
And while the Spurs’ leader most definitely made an impression on the Shamrock 4, so did Kerr.
“Oh, it was incredible,” said Marcus Smart, breaking into a smile when thinking back to the FIBA World
Championship. “He was just laid back. He reminded me a little of Brad, in that he didn’t really get out of his comfort zone when things went bad. He was the same cool, calm, collected guy, and he stayed that way. But he liked to joke. He’s a good guy, great energy.”
And a ready wit. “Yeah, me, Jaylen (Brown), Jayson (Tatum) and Kemba (Walker) were all shooting at one basket after practice, and he comes up and says, ‘No, no, this isn’t fair. All the Celtics guys are shooting. We can’t have all these Celtics together.’
We all laughed and went back and forth. He’s just a great guy.”
Said Walker, “Coach Kerr, he was pretty laid back. But he was so funny, such a really good guy. He was definitely fun to be around — all the guys, all the coaches were fun to be around.
“We’ve all been watching coach Kerr’s run over these last years, so it was definitely exciting to be around him.”
It seemed as if there were an echo in the Celtics’ dressing room when Tatum said, “Coach Steve is chill, a laid back guy. It was great to work with him, and it was fun. He joked around with us a lot.”
Brown had a head start on his chemistry with Kerr.
“It was great being with him like that. I go back with coach,” Brown said. “I played with his son, Nick, at Cal, so coach Kerr would come to our games. And he invited me to a few (Warriors) games at Oracle when I was in college, so I got to build a good relationship with him before I even got to the NBA. Now everything’s coming full circle, and I always give him a big hug when I see him.”
The Warriors coach could use a hug right about now. In addition to Kevin Durant being injured again in the playoffs and then leaving for Brooklyn as a free agent, Golden State has had to endure injuries to key players Steph Curry (hand) and Klay Thompson (ACL).
It’s been a struggle for the Dubs, who took a 2-10 record into Friday’s game after being in The Finals the last five years and winning three titles.
The Celtics feel for their summer coach.
“I definitely do,” said Smart. “You don’t want to see any injuries at all, and his whole team caught a case of it. Our prayers go out to those guys. We don’t wish injuries on anybody, not even our worst enemy.”
“Of course you feel bad, especially when anybody gets hurt,” said Tatum. “You never want to see anybody go down because of injury. I know it’s got to be tough on those guys and coach Steve.”
Walker was sympathetic but philosophical.
“That’s the nature of this league, man,” he said. “They’ve had some special runs over the years. They’ll be back, though. They still have great talent.”