Kerr’s handling of playing time has been critical to team’s health
The Cleveland bench has been a fascinating thing to watch in these NBA Finals.
Half of it resembles a pit crew. When LeBron James, the team’s Ferrari, and Matthew Dellavedova, the jalopy forced into the race, are on the bench, they are frantically rubbed down, iced down, toweled down by trainers, who are trying desperately to keep the two in the game.
Away from that frenzied action, the other half of the Cleveland bench is a sea of calm. It includes some slightly interested spectators, men dressed in the Cavaliers’ uniforms who haven’t broken a game sweat in weeks.
That’s a stark contrast with the Warriors’ bench, where — aside from a heat pack on Draymond’s Green back — there appear to be no medical issues. And for most playoff games, three or four of the players on the bench have popped up when Steve Kerr calls their names, ready to supply needed minutes.
This is another reason Kerr could be named the series MVP for the Warriors. (Former head coach Don Nelson nominated him for that honor when talking to colleague Scott Ostler about Kerr choosing to go with a small-ball lineup.)
Though it’s only his first season as a head coach, Kerr had the ability to look all the way down the tunnel of a long NBA season to the second week of June and see that managing minutes, while keeping all players fully engaged, was the only way to be successful.
“It was a focal point for us to try to keep guys fresh, but it was made easy by our players’ play,” Kerr said. “I wouldn’t have sat Steph (Curry) out of 17 fourth quarters if we were in close games.
“The vast majority of them were big wins, and our guys were playing so well that we could afford to sit Steph and Klay (Thompson) and keep their minutes down.
“We did make a concerted effort to give (Andrew) Bogut and Andre (Iguodala) games off from time to time. Whether it’s paid off or not, I guess that’s subjective. But I do like our players’ look. They look fast. They look sharp out there.”
Those were not words to describe the Cavaliers in Game 4.
“We did appear to be fatigued,” Cleveland head coach David Blatt said. “We did let down somewhat. It was the third game in five days for us, and we’ve been a little bit shorthanded for quite some time now.”
They are extremely shorthanded. The Cavaliers lost two of their best players to injury — Kevin Love earlier in the playoffs and Kyrie Irving in Game 1 of the Finals. They also have chosen to be shorthanded, leaving experienced players such as Shawn Marion and Kendrick Perkins out of the mix.
A caveat about luck: The Warriors have had it — go knock on your front door right now — almost all season. The only significant injury they had was to David Lee at the start of the season. There were concerns about how Bogut and Iguodala, both in their 30s, would hold up through an entire season, but they’ve done it, thanks to key moments of rest.
“Physically, it’s helped,” Iguodala said. “You still have your bumps and bruises. Eighty-two games is really long. I was almost dead late in the New Orleans series, early in the Memphis series. I don’t take medicine, but I had to, and it’s kind of helped me tremendously the last two series.”
Earlier in the season, Kerr described Curry the way Madison Avenue describes dryer sheets: “fresh and bouncy.” And to hear Curry tell it, even though he’s hammered in every game and comes out of games bruised and scratched, he still has that laundry-fresh scent.
“I feel great,” he said. “He managed my minutes with the rotations. With three games left, whatever you have, howev- er you feel, you’ve got to psych yourself mentally to give it all you got. I do feel good. I think I’ll be pretty fresh once Game 5 starts.”
It’s not simply physical freshness that could give the Warriors an advantage now. It’s also mental readiness. Kerr has been masterful and kept role players engaged and on board, something not easy to do in a personality-driven league.
Iguodala, 31, said he still isn’t accustomed to coming off the bench, which he has done all season except for Game 4 of the Finals. But he has been the team’s best player in this series, competing ferociously with LeBron James. Bogut was key against Memphis and Houston but said he was fine with a limited role the rest of the way if it was better for the team. Lee, who could have nursed a grudge against Kerr all season, has been indispensable in recent games.
Iguodala praised Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa, whose contributions have flown under the radar.
“Our second unit, we’ve prided ourselves in making an impact every night and staying ready,” Iguodala said.
“We’re just trying to do our best to find any way possible for the 15 guys in our locker room to beat the 15 guys in their locker room,” Lee said.
After 101 games, Kerr’s strategy has paid off. The Warriors look ready for the final 12 — or eight — quarters of the season.
“We did make a concerted effort to give (Andrew) Bogut and Andre (Iguodala) games off ... Whether it’s paid off or not, I guess that’s subjective. But I do like our players’ look.” Steve Kerr, Warriors head coach