No offense to Brown, but Warriors clearly miss Kerr
MEMPHIS — Paging Steve Kerr.
I know, nobody pages anybody anymore. That’s old-fashioned.
But what the Golden State Warriors need right now is a touch of old-fashioned, and to get that, to reclaim their old playoff mojo, they could use their absent head coach’s skills.
Not that the Wednesday Night Massacre, losing Game 5 134-95 to the Grizzlies, is all on the head of fill-in head coach Mike Brown. Brown, Kerr’s trusted No. 1 assistant, is 12-1 as a substitute head coach in the playoffs.
But the one loss is sticking out like a sore thumb that is throbbing to the beat of the Memphis Grizzlies’ theme song featuring their slogan, “Whoop that trick.”
Whoop indeed. If Wednesday’s Game 5 box score was a report card, the Warriors would be grounded for a year.
If the Warriors don’t respond in Game 6 on Friday, that box score will become an autopsy report.
They can spring back to life Friday, of course, but if you’re the embarrassed Warriors right now, you’d like your chances better if you could have your head coach back.
In the 2017 playoffs, Brown replaced Kerr for 11 games and was a superstar sub as the Warriors won all 11. But back then, the Warriors were young and energetic, and had Kevin Durant.
Kerr can’t escape all blame for Wednesday’s throw-up blowout. He called the shots on the starting lineup, with Jonathan Kuminga starting for the third straight game. That didn’t work. And Kerr, coaching from his couch, still dictates basic strategy.
But the Warriors need all the intangibles they can get, and having Kerr back would not be a small thing. He has a gift for prepping his players for closeout games, and for helping them overcome huge setbacks.
Kerr would not take credit for the Warriors’ five-year run to the Finals, nor for this season’s revival after two non-playoff seasons. But there’s no denying the man’s subtle brilliance as a mood-maker and slump-breaker.
Kerr won’t be back Friday for Game 6, but it’s possible he could pass all the tests and return for a Game 7, or for a Game 1 in the Western Conference finals, if the Warriors advance. His earliest possible return after testing positive for coronavirus Monday would be Saturday, in time for a game back here in Memphis on Monday if the Grizzlies force it, but according to one league source, a return early next week is more likely.
It’s a common mistake — by fans and media, at least — to overreact to one horrible playoff game. But Wednesday’s beatdown was scary. The Warriors were like a guy looking in the mirror and seeing an old man.
One mark of this season’s Warriors has been their ability to adjust at halftime. On Wednesday night, they were outscored 42-17 in the third quarter.
Brown and the players all said after the game that they would study video and make adjustments. But at least some of those adjustments could have been made during Wednesday’s game.
Like not camping at the 3point arc on offense. Better to, like Muhammad Ali, stick and move.
“If we relocate, we’ll get some good looks,” Brown said, but the Warriors should be able to make that fix on the fly.
And boxing out, Kerr’s ongoing pet project. The Warriors forgot everything they’ve learned this season about the importance and art and hard work of boxing out, especially against a taller, more physical team. The Grizzlies collected 18 offensive rebounds to four for the Warriors.
Kerr would have broken a clipboard. And maybe a backboard.
Also, Kerr might have noticed that for two games, the Grizzlies’ defenders have been overplaying the Warriors, which has contributed to a high number of turnovers (22 on Wednesday).
Brown and the Warriors who took their turns at the interview podium after the game all talked about flushing this loss. Brown even pantomimed the flushing act.
They also talked about the importance of watching video of this one and making adjustments.
But maybe what the Warriors need to do is flush the video of this game. Do you really need to watch video of your house burning down to realize that you shouldn’t have had a campfire in the den?
Maybe Kerr should channel his inner Phil Jackson and suggest to Brown that he forgo the video study and take the players bowling, or white-water kayaking. Maybe hold an incense ceremony in the Warriors’ palatial locker room at Chase Center.
And then hit the weight room.
The Warriors’ efforts Wednesday revived the old rumblings from around the envious league that the Warriors are soft.
“They were the most physical team.”
“They played with more force, at both ends of the floor.”
Those quotes are not from Wednesday, they are postgame comments by Kerr and Draymond Green after the Warriors got badly outmuscled by the Nuggets in Game 4 of the previous round, a 126-121 Denver win.
The Warriors bounced back to win Game 5, of course.
This bounce-back, if indeed the Warriors can mount one, would have a much higher degree of difficulty. This is a team on the brink. Paging Steve Kerr.