June 5, 2023 • 42 mins
Steve Kerr joins Draymond Green for the first installment of 'Champs Only' where Dray is joined by NBA champions to break down the NBA Finals.
Produced by: Jackson Safon
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Just a reminder you can catch me recording this podcast
live on amp amp is a new live radio app
that lets you call in and chat with me in
person while I'm recording. Get the app on Apple's app
store and make sure to follow me at at Draymond
Green to get notified when I go live. So what's up, everybody?
(00:28):
Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. As you can
probably see by the title of this podcast, as you
can see by the promo of this podcast, we were
too excited to actually like keep the surprise until it
just popped up in your face.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Our guest, my guy, coach Kerr. We spoke about.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Some great things and you will get have the opportunity
to hear that shortly. But I wanted to get on
here and mention something that I saw in the first
quarter before we roll into that. So and then I'll
let you get Steve got gyms okay, Like he is
the guy you're talking to, justments, we talk the jutments,
you're talking mindset nine time champion, like it's not an accident.
(01:11):
And then people try and say he didn't play much
with the bulls. It's not an accident. Winners win never
forget it. And on Champs Only today coach Kerr gave
some gyms. It was great to hear. I enjoyed it.
I know you all will. But one thing that I
saw before we go into that during the game today,
(01:34):
and it's unfortunately they didn't win, because this will be
a much cooler story if they want. But I'm happy
to see a good series tied up one one at
the end of the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And remember I'm always watching the game.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Within the game, I'm always watching other guys' reactions to
see if I can play on that. Like I'm you know,
I talk. I like to talk, and I like to
stir up the pot a little bit. And like you
watch other guys actions on teams to see if you
can play on that, like if I can get under skin,
if I can get them to go against each other.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
All that's a part of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And in the field of war, like you have to
find your angles when you're out there on that court,
and that's just that. And one thing I saw at
the end of the first quarter, Jamal Murray had the
ball and as you can recall it, maybe you can't,
but you can go back and check it out. Jamal
Murray had the ball at the end of the first
quarter and Jackson's great.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
So Jackson all clipping and short teeth.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
And he started getting his package and Joker popped open,
and Joker was wild, and Joker like thought he was
about to get the ball for a wide open three,
and then he realized Jamal wasn't passing it, and Jamal
start dancing, dancing and step back, and like, the right
play would have been to throw the ball to Joker
and let him shoot it because he was wide open.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Jamal had drawn two. Did your job.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
But Jamal is also a big shot taker and a
big shot maker, so he wants that moment when that's
going on. As you can see down stretch into the game,
he was taking all of those shots and he got
them right back in and they had had a chance
to tie it up and say it overtime, but he
stepped back, step back, shot the ball and missed it.
And what you will see in most situations like that
(03:18):
with a lot of guys is they dropped their head,
they slumped their shoulders, they say, come on, hold, just
stand there, hold their hands like this right, like making
it obvious that they were open by the way I've
done it, like I've we all do it. Like Joker
clapped his hand, but it was like a clap, like ah,
(03:41):
he barely missed, like almost. It wasn't like a clap.
I should have got the ball. Shoulders did not drop
a centimeter. Body language did not change, not one bit.
And that's why they're in the NBA Finals because the
confidence that that gives coming from Joker to Jamal Murray,
(04:04):
like take that shot.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
It's no surprise to me.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Jamal Murray hit those shots late because he know the
guy isn't gonna slump his shoulders. He know the guy
isn't gonna say, oh, give me the ball. That's how
you make guys around you better. And Jamal Murray is
an incredible player in his own right, don't get me wrong,
but Joker's Joker. That's how you give guys confidence. And
I thought that was really interesting to see. It says
(04:28):
a lot about their chemistry, it says a lot about
their team and why they are where they are. So
as you know, I'm always trying to help you guys
see the game within the game. I think if everyone
understands this game from a better place, it only makes
our game that we all love. Fans, players, you name it,
the basketball community. It only makes the game that we
(04:49):
all love better. So I like to share those things.
But now let's get into the guy, My guy Stevie Kerr.
June is a championship month for sports. Pro basketball, hockey,
college baseball, and softball championships all underway, and of course
(05:11):
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Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's g r.
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thankful for this guy in my life, super important. Has
helped me grow as a man, has helped me grow
as a player. And I promised you all a surprise
(05:59):
guest with him in mind, and he had not confirmed,
but I just trusted that he would look out for
me as he always does, and he did. He came
through for me. So the surprise is here today's episode.
This is called the Draymond Green Show Champs Only Edition,
and what that means is we have a guest that's
(06:22):
going to break this game down. And when you're talking
playoff adjustments, when you're talking to someone who's not afraid
to pull a trigger on a lineup, on a defensive scheme,
you name it. The best in the business here to
break down the game with us. Today we have nine
(06:43):
time NBA champion, the best coach in the NBA coach,
Steve Kerr.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Welcome to the show, Dre.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You're too kind. It's good to be with you.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
As I told you and I shared this on here,
I don't mind telling the world this I learned.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I have learned so much from you.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
About winning, like simply on how to win, like there's
no mistake. Last maybe two episodes ago, I was speaking
on this list of guys who's won all the championships
and in our lifetime, and you're right at the top.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Of that list with nine championships.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I know a couple of years ago, you know, I
was talking about championship, like, wow, we have three and
you like, you guys got three. I got eight, and
you kept that right and you kept that right at
the top. And now we're at four, you're at nine.
It's incredible. But number one, I just want to say
for everything that you've taught me, thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
No and thank you, because I mean people who watch
us play and follow our team, I think they know
it really is a collaboration, you know. And that's what
I learned from my coaches. I mean, I was so
blessed to play for the greatest coaches ever, you know,
Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich, Lenny Wilkins, coach Loud Olsen
(08:07):
in college. I mean all Hall of famers and Len,
Lenny and uh and Phil and Pop in the NBA
in particular, we're all collaborators. And and that's really what
I learned from them was that number one, you're you're
only as good as your players in the NBA. Number two,
(08:27):
if you do have players, then uh, you've got to
collaborate with them and and and and figure it out
as a group. And that's been really I think what
has been most fun during our run here, you know,
during my time with you and Steph and Clay and
Andrea and the whole group. We do it together and
we figure it out and we find a way.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Absolutely, And I mean especially during the playoffs, and it's
like during that time of year, it's just like a
magic it's a buzz. We walk in the room, he's
just you see your wheels spinning.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's like zooding out of you. And we come in,
we have.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
A few suggestions and whether those suggestions, I think the
thing that I can always appreciate as a player is
like whether we go with that suggestion or not. It's heard,
it's carefully thought out, and it's like, Okay, here's what
we're going to do, and Hairs, why if this and
we have an adjustment in the bank if we need
(09:26):
to go to it and Harri's what it'll be, and
it's it's just like it's never turned on deaf ears,
whether it's we go with it or not. And I
can always appreciate that as a player, especially as you know,
I always got something to say, so I can always
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Well, We've had we've had a lot of great coaches
on our staffs, and that's what makes it so fun.
You're right, I mean, the playoffs are the best time
of year for sure. And when you go into every
series and uh, you know, you have an idea of
what you want to do, and then from game to
game making these adjustments. It's so different from the regular season.
(10:02):
You know, regular season, you're you're just trying to get
to the next game and get through the through the
year and keep your guys healthy and confident, keep everybody
you know moving forward and feeling good about themselves. And
and then the playoffs coming, it's you throw everything out
the window. It's just when it's just pure basketball, nothing
else matters, and from one game to the next, like
(10:24):
you just you just you know, you see stuff that
you you have to do or that you might want
to do, and and you make these changes. You hope
they work, and if they don't, you try something different.
It's so fun. It's it's the best time of year.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Absolutely, I can agree.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Well, speaking of that and getting into a night's game,
I know you watched the game as soon as we
hopped on, You're like, man, that game was exciting as hell.
First time and your coaching career that you're not headed
to the NBA Finals and you were in the playoffs.
(11:03):
How how much is it I know it has to
be burning you because it's burning me, But how much
is it burning you to be sitting here watching.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
And not us not participating in this game or this series.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Yeah, I mean it's on the one hand, it's burning
me up. On the other hand, I just sort of,
you know, count my blessings like I think. You know,
I've been coaching the team nine years. We missed the
playoffs twice, and six of the seven years we made
the finals. So this is the first year, like you said,
(11:37):
first year we haven't made the finals. But who gets
to say that? I mean, that's just there's so much
good fortune, you know, And I'm not trying to be modest.
You know, we have a great staff and we work
hard and all that stuff. But you know, so much
of coaching is just you know, who you get to
(11:58):
coach and the players, that talent that you have, the competitiveness,
and we've had such an incredible group. So this year
was we came up short. It's no fun watching the finals.
But at the same time, we don't deserve to be there.
You know, we weren't looking, So you know, I can
(12:20):
live with that.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
We got to get better, no doubt, no doubt. And
I think, you know, sometimes you have to lose to win,
you know. And I think for us, this allows us
to reset.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
This allows us to go back and say, all right,
here are some things we didn't do.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's great. It's tough to do that.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It's coming off a championship sometimes, So I think this
will be great for us and I'm excited about it.
But and speaking of tonight's game, You've always been a coach,
I mean, dating back to twenty fifteen, that it's not
afraid to pull the trigger on an adjustment, whether it's
a lineup change in the middle of a series, whether
(12:59):
the it's total going away from a guy because you
think this just is a serious You've You've been known,
I mean, you're known for doing that.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
And the Heat did that tonight with Kevin Love.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
They went back to Kevin Love over Cayleb Martin in
the Star lineup. What is it in coming into your
coaching career that made you comfortable with making those adjustments
moving Andre into the Star lineup in the NBA Finals,
moving Andre to the bench to start a season, Like,
what is it or where did you learn that coming
(13:32):
into I mean, you're a rookie coach when you came in.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, I think when I think back to twenty fifteen,
the biggest move we made was in the second round
when we were playing Memphis and we were down to
one and Ron Adams suggested that we put Andrew Bogan
on Tony Allen in Memphis and they were just controlling
(13:55):
the tempo. And I remember we were on the plane
when he said it, and I remember thinking, why, you know,
why would we do that like that? That seems crazy.
And so the more we watched film, the more I
could picture it, and then we did it. It was
like magic. It's like, oh my god, this changed everything.
(14:15):
And that was my first experience as a coach where
I realized one matchup change, just one move, can change
a series dramatically. I didn't really know it at the time,
but because we had such a great staff and a
veteran group with Alvin Gentry and and Ron, you know,
(14:36):
those guys had been through it before, so they taught
me like, one one lineup change, one one matchup change, Uh,
it literally can shift everything. And so from then on
it was like, okay, now now I get it, you know,
and you can you can really you can really make
a shift with with some subtle moves.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Absolutely, I remember that like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
It put Memphis in touch in such a tough spot
because Tony Allen was so good defensively. Tony Allen's one
of the best defenders I've ever played against, and he
wasn't guarding me but just in watching. And we hurt
them so bad on the offensive end that they end
up having to take him off the floor, and it
just opened our offense up to do everything once he
(15:22):
came off the floor.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
It was huge.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, And getting to tonight's game, Uh, you know, Joker,
another great game. Forty one points, eleven rebounds, but only
four sists.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
What do you make of that stat?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah? You know, we we talked about this last year
when when we played Denver. You know, we we just
felt the same way that Miami felt tonight, like like
he's just so good as a passer, and I think
I think that's what he likes to do best. Let's
makes him go and what makes their team go. And
(16:03):
they're so much better now than they were a year ago,
obviously because of Jamal Murray being healthy, Michael Porter being healthy,
adding KCP and Bruce Brown, they got more size in
the backcourd. So they're a great, great team. But I
do think what Miami did tonight, you know, they they said,
(16:24):
all right, we're going to make Jokic your score. Let's
take away other people. And then the big one I
thought was, you know, you mentioned them starting love that
allowed Jimmy Butler to guard Murray, And to me, it
was like, I don't you know, I haven't talked to
Spoe or anything like that, but I can see them
in their coaches meetings saying Murray's the head of the snake,
(16:46):
you know, not not Yoka, Like like, if you just
look at it, you go, well, Jokic is ahead of snake.
When you play a team, you sort of realize, wait
a second, like that guy's gonna he's going to dominate
no matter what we do. So we got this is
the head of this and I think they just decided
Murray's the guy we got to stop. So you start love,
put Jimmy Butler on Murray, and then you saw like
(17:08):
they were blitzing m Murray quite a bit and really
trying everything to take him out of the game.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, I thought I thought that was very interesting because
it made it extremely tough on Murray.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
It didn't allow for those.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Pocket There was a point where they like went to
that matchup zone and they were like switching anyone on
the Joker.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I thought that was extremely interesting because last game. After
last game, I spoke about like some of the possible
justments they can make, and I was saying, put Jimmy
Butler on Murray, you keep Bam on Joker.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But now you read that pick and roll with them.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
As you know, having Bam with us in the Olympics,
Bam can guard anyone and and Jimmy will put up
a fight, but it keeps those guys in front. And
now you're not getting the back door cuts, Joker's not
getting ten assists and it and it forces it buy
a struggle all of a sudden, k CPS threes weren't
going in because they didn't get those at the beginning
(18:05):
of the game.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And so I thought, uh, that was an interesting one.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah. Yeah, I think that against every team. You know,
in the playoffs, you're you're you're just trying to take
them out of rhythm. You know, you're you're you just
want to make them. You know, we always use the
Belichick line, you know, make them play left handed. You know,
he's famous for that, like trying to trying to take
a team's strengths, take that away and make them do
(18:32):
something different. And I think that's what the playoffs are
all about. You get these great players like Jokicchen you
have to figure out, Okay, well, like what are we
going to possibly do with this guy? And uh and
it's more, you know, you're not going to stop him,
So how can we make the team slightly uncomfortable? How
can we take them out of their patterns that they're
(18:53):
so used to? And I thought Miami did an amazing
job of that tonight.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Yeah, I definitely thought they'd as well.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Miami.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
One thing I noticed I've noticed about their offense, but
especially it's been showing up as of late really and this.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Well, this today showed up.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
But also in that Boston series, they run a lot
of stuff out of the high splits, kind of like
God of State.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
But I thought it was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Duncan Robinson couldn't get a shot off the first three quarters,
couldn't get an attempt, and then all of a sudden
he goes for ten quick points to start the fourth quarter,
and it changes everything.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Do you think and watching.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Them play the Miami heat, that something similar to what
we were doing against Sack would be beneficial against them
because they got these guards coming flying off handoffs.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
BAM's a great playmaker.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Then Bam has the fake keeps or he's just moving
in and going to the next But they got these
guards jokers down the floor, but they're letting everything up
the floor.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, yeah, well, I mean that might be Denver's adjustment.
And that's the beauty of the playoffs, is you know,
that's the next thing they got to figure out if
they want to take away all those drible handoffs. I mean,
how many how many buckets did Bam get on the
pocket pass after those dhos? You know, Lowery had several
(20:26):
beautiful passes to him on the second half down the stretch.
Both Struce and Robinson made made good passes to him.
So that that'll be really interesting to see. Does Denver,
you know, try to just denial those drible handoffs, send
everything to the rim and have Jokic just sit back
(20:48):
there and and and that would be you know, one
way of Denver saying trying to do the same thing
that Miami did tonight in terms of take away a
team's pattern, try to make him do something different.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Absolutely, Miami's been going to the zone and and now
two games in a row it's really stifled Denver in
the fourth quarter. When when you're going zone as a coach, like,
obviously that's a new thing in the NBA. It hasn't
always been a big thing, but like as of late,
(21:23):
you're starting to see more and more.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Teams, Uh, go zone.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
What are you hoping to accomplish as a coach, Like
when when you're going to that zone like Miami's did
both fourth quarters.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Now, I think again it's it's take away the pattern,
take away the comfort zone. You know, the Murray Yokics
two man game down the stretch, you you said it
already like they were in a kind of a funky
matchup zone. Miami was, but they just kept switching the
pick and roll, the high pick and roll, and then
they were zoned up behind it. And so I think
(21:57):
Miami's probably the best zone team and the year in
the league. You probably remember early in the season we
had a lead down the stretch in Miami and they
played zone the last five minutes and stifled us. And
they they run some interesting stuff. It's they they've got
a couple of different zones that they run. The one
tonight looked like a matchup zone, like almost like a
(22:21):
hybrid type thing, like maybe they made it up on
the fly during the finals. You know. But they are
they're really good. I mean, they're just they're they're tough minded,
they're so well coachedos amazing, and they just don't make mistakes,
you know. I think they had twenty eight assists eleven turnovers.
They don't beat themselves. You know, they had that one
(22:42):
stretch early second quarter where they turned it over a
few times, Denver made their run and got control of
the game. I'd like to see the number of turnovers
Miami had in the second half. I'll bet it was,
you know, three or four. They just don't they don't
give you anything.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
No.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I thought, that's that's for sure. And on oppositely, and
Denver couldn't stop.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Turning it over.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah, I thought Joker has some uncharacteristic turnovers that he
don't normally have as well.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, and I think it was because they were taking
out of those comfort zone patterns that they have. So
that's the that's the idea with not only the zone,
but changing up the matchups and and uh, you know,
getting Butler on on Murray so that you you have
more athleticism and size against them on the pick and roll.
Like you said, the ability to switch with bam And
(23:34):
and Jimmy on that pick and roll. So I thought
Miami was was phenomenal tonight.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Yeah, they were great. A couple couple of rotation things.
Like I said just top of the show, you're one
of the best at that. Max Streuss comes out fire
and he's knocking him down. He gets it going, he
doesn't really play. In the fourth quarter, they go Duncan.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Robinson who who.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Again hadn't been able to get a shot off. How
do you make that decision? Like in that moment, you're like,
all right, we're going away from Strus who had it
going early, essentially going to Duncan who hasn't gotten anything going. Like,
as a coach, how are you making that decision in
the moment like that on like which one of those
(24:22):
guys you're going with?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
I think you have to establish that all season long,
like with with your team, the message has to be
whoever has it going is going to play, and the
guys have to be connected enough to not only understand that,
but to embrace it. You know, Caleb Martin was the
star of the Boston series. You know, he's hardly been
(24:47):
a factor in this series. Offensively, didn't play much, but
he hit a huge three in the you know, in
the fourth quarter tonight. And it's like none of those
guys on Miami or are are sitting there saying, well,
I didn't play or man, they put in so and so,
Like they're just all about winning. And you know this
(25:08):
from from our our groups that we've had. When when
you when you have that championship mentality, every guy's bought in.
Every guy is just trying to win. Nobody nobody cares
about any of that stuff. You don't go into the
locker room, you know, saying well I should have played more.
You just you just want to win. And that's the
beauty of finding that magic when you have a championship team,
(25:32):
is that everybody's bought in, and it makes the decisions
for the coach really simple. You just go with go
with your gut, and go with whoever's playing.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Well. Another question.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Or something that I noticed in this game, and I
just wonder as I'm sitting here, wondering, Oh, I'm sitting
here watching. I was wondering, like, at what point do
you scrap your lineups? Because and so watching this game,
if you notice, I.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Know you noticed Miami.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Miami's lineups with Jimmy on the floor in the first half,
they couldn't get it. They couldn't get it, like they
turned the ball over every playing They couldn't even get
a shot up. And I thought it was interesting to
see Jimmy off the floor at the same time as Joker,
and then he was coming back in, Like why not
take advantage of those like have Jimmy on the floor
(26:32):
win Jokers not on the floor to take advantage of
a non Joker minutes. But it also keeps him on
Murray because in that first half, Murray had eight points.
They were all in transition. Jimmy was into him to
start that game, and then Jimmy comes out, he gets
it going and they end up going up like eleven
points before Jimmy can get back in the game. At
what point in the series are you looking at that
(26:53):
and you're like, all right, maybe we need to stifle
our minutes a bit and get this guy on the floor, Like.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
How how deep in the series. Do you have to
be to start thinking that way?
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, I think it just depends on how you feel
as a coach, as a staff about the flow of
the game, you know. And I think Miami left that
first game not feeling great about the way things went,
and they said, all right, we got to make our
adjustments now. We're not going to wait till game three.
I think, you know, our series against the Lakers, by
(27:29):
the end, Shrewder was just going to be on Steph
no matter when Steph was on the floor. So I
think they started him game six. Whenever Steph came out,
Shrewder came out. Ever, Steph went back in, Shrouder went
back in. And I think that's a that's a pretty
common theme in these playoff series. If there's one guy
(27:50):
that you know you have to slow down, you just
put your best defender on him and you just mirror
the matchup. I think I think Miami did that in
the second and a half. I don't think they did
that in the first half, did they? When Rory got
going a little bit, Butler was not on the floor, right.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
He wasn't on the floor, and that's when they made
that run.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Yeah, So I think that was the adjustment they made
in the second half. As soon as soon as Murray
went to the bench, Jimmy went to the bench. As
soon as he came back to the scorer's table, Jimmy
went right.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Back to another adjustment.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Thing I talked earlier on here in the playoffs about
our biggest adjustment. And one thing that you've another thing
that you've taught me is just always the force that
you play with. I think anytime we lose a game,
or almost lose game or anything, you always come in
and you say, hey, here's our We have some things
that we're going to work on, I mean, some things
(28:47):
that we're going to change up. We have some ideas,
but our biggest adjustment is always going.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
To be forced.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
And you you always say that, why do you think
it's so important? But also so difficult to that because
I actually thought coming out today, and I also spoke
about this last time in Game one, Miami was on
the verge of getting blown out and they reeled it
(29:13):
back in a little bit, and I said, listen, if
I'm the Denver Nuggets, I actually feel great about that
because we didn't blow them out. So now they're not
coming in with the added extra fire that you know
a team comes in with when they've get blown when
they've gotten blown out. However, I thought at the beginning
of this game, and I would love to know if
you saw the same thing, I thought Denver came out
(29:34):
passive like they they came out lack of aggression. It
kind of looked like a regular season game. And Miami
got their footing right away. I think they started off
the game up ten to two, and it just looked
like they that Denver lost the force.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Did you see that same thing? Was that your?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah? I mean I thought it was more that Miami
just brought the force. And that's you know, human nature.
You're down and oh and you got two off days
and you're sitting in your hotel room in Denver and
you're you know, you're pissed off, and all the media
is saying this is going to be a sweep or
five games and Miami has no chance. It's just human nature,
(30:14):
you know, you come out angry and and with Denver
it's probably probably the flip side of that. It's like
you don't think you're going to be complacent, but you
probably are a little bit. And that's all it takes.
There's such a slight difference between you know, really playing
with an edge and not playing with an edge. It's
(30:35):
just a minor thing, but it's there. That's the you know,
the difference between two great teams in the finals. It's
just you know, who's going to be a split second
quicker to the loose ball. Who's going to be you know,
just a little more forceful with every action. And you
can see it right away. Miami was they came out,
(30:55):
they were angry, and they they played with more competitive
juice and they set the tone early.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Your Denver.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
One one headed on the road, you just saw the game.
What's your number one adjustment going into next game? If
you're Denver on how you're going to get this series
back under your control.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
It's a good question. I mean, I think number one
that you know, like like we just talked about, your
first adjustment is the force that you come with the intent,
that you're playing with the purpose. And then you know,
as far as any tactical adjustments, that's what the next
two days or four you know, I always felt like,
(31:38):
you know, every time we would finish a playoff game,
I would I'd be reluctant to say anything to you
guys right afterwards, because I'd always want to look at
the tape first to confirm any thoughts that I have,
And sometimes I was, you know, i'd be way off, like,
you know, I'd want to go in and say one thing,
and and and I'd watched the tape and I go, no, No,
(32:01):
that actually wasn't the key to the game. This was,
you know. So I think that's what the next two
days are about for Mike Malone and his staff is
trying to figure out do they want to make some adjustments.
Maybe it's what you talked about, taking away some of
those drouble handoffs, you know, top locking the shooters, sending
them down, maybe something like that. I doubt it's a
(32:21):
personnel change because I think Denver is really solid with
their starting group. Uh, they're the favorite in this series.
I don't think they have to panic or anything. I
just think it's probably playing with more intent and maybe
maybe you know, a tactical a slight tactical change somewhere.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
When you're playing, Like like Spostra, as we spoke about,
sposal is great. He has the experience edge over Mike Malone.
You're now in a position where I mean almost any
coach in the league, with the exception of Pop, You're
going to have the experienced edge over damn near any
(33:04):
coach in the league. When as a coach, I know
when I go out there as a player and I'm
looking at those guys, the one thing I have in
the back of my mind is that I know how
like that we've done this, we know how to do it.
When you're going up against another coach, say supposed to
against Mike Malone, are you feeling that as a coach
as well? Like what I know, we've been in this
situation before that we don't know if he's going to panic,
(33:27):
you know, because he hasn't been. Like, are you feeling
that as a coach? And you were a player, so
you know how it feels as a player. Do you
get that same feeling as a coach as you do
as players?
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Think you consider it, and I think in this particular series,
Mike Malone has a lot of experience, Like the continuity
of the two organizations is a big reason why they're
both here. And all you have to do is think back.
You know two years ago, you know, Denver came back
(33:59):
twice in the bubble from three to one deficits. They
won two straight series down three to one. Mike Malons
a hell of a coach. They have continuity with their players,
with the staff, so they will come out with resolve
and with some adjustments, and they have been through these wars. Now,
(34:21):
maybe not in the finals, and there is a little
different vibe in the finals, but I think these two
games now they've kind of felt it. I mean, I
would ask you you remember our first trip in twenty fifteen,
in those first two finals games feel weird, like they're
so different than a regular game.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
No, they are, I mean, and it was crazy because
you told us, You're like, all right, guys, it's the Finals.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Now, all of this is going to be different.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
The practices are different, you got media there, everything's going
to be different. You now have family in town the
entire time, and you kind of warned us of all
of those things. And yet we got into those first
two games like WHOA like totally different vibe.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Yeah, I thought, I thought that was very interesting. And
and then.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
You see like like we had the opportunity to see
the Celtics and you know, go through that last year,
and I thought, if you think back to Game one,
we took We took advantage of it for the first half,
really the first three quarters, and then it's like they
found their foot in, they got a little more comfortable,
guys start hitting the shots, and the game got away
from Obviously we ended up finishing it, but he saw
(35:33):
us a little bit of that same thing.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I think. I always felt like the hardest thing is
practicing in the arena instead of at your practice facility.
You know, it's the only time all year where you know, somebody,
somebody tells you okay, you're not allowed to practice in
your practice facility. You know, so you practice at the
arena and like five hundred media members are going to
(35:58):
come in for the last five minutes, the first five
minutes of practice or not actually like first twenty minutes. Yes,
so you have to put on like a fake practice
in the finals where it's like, all right, guys, do
three man weave or you know, like what are we doing?
And it's crazy because you you know, it's like you're
playing for the biggest prize, you know, the biggest games
(36:19):
of your life, and you're not allowed to follow your
routine and you guys, as individual players, can't get your
usual shooting time that you get on your home floor
practice floor, because on the practice floor you got six hoops,
six empty hoops. In the main area there's only two hoops,
(36:41):
so you can't do the same routine. It's to me,
it's nuts, but it's all part of the media obligations
that both teams.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Have, absolutely, absolutely now Coach, this has been great. As
you know, I could sit and talk basketball you all right,
and I want to let you enjoy your Sunday. But
before we get out of here, due to my love
for him, and I know your love for him, I'd
be remiss if we got on here and we didn't
mention Bob Myers.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
I know what he's meant to me in my career, and.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Man, I I'm not gonna I was having a conversation
today with someone and I start talking about some of
the things that I've gone through, like as a player,
like and not some of the things that I've gone through.
You know, all the shit that I've caused myself. It's
out there like I've gone through something that somebody else
calls it's self inflicted wounds that I've had over the
(37:37):
course of your teenure. Here us, you know, us being
together and we were speaking about it, and he was like, man,
I forgot all of that shit.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
You've done a lot of shit. I trust me. Not
for one second do I go home and not think.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
These guys have had my back, like you, Bob, through
things that I've gone through. I mean, the camera caught
you one time like I'm sick of Draymond shit, and
and I was like, that sucks. I can't believe he
said that. And I had to take a step back,
like I'd be sick of Draymond shit too, So like,
(38:13):
and I understand, you know what you've done for me.
I understand you know what Bob's done for me and
what you guys have meant to me in my life
and my career.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
And I just wanted to give you an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
You know, Bob's been here, your entire journey, how that
journey's been with him to see him go, just your
feelings and your thoughts on it.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, well, you know I mentioned early in the podcast,
just the fact that it's a collaboration, and Bob is
a huge part of the collaboration, and he and I
have been partners in this thing for nine years. You know,
he hired me, he was here before. I was I
don't know what it's going to be like without him.
(38:55):
There's already like a really hollow feeling just knowing he's
not going to be in the building every day. There's
an incredible friendship there, an incredible uh sense of gratitude
that I have for Bob for everything that we've shared
(39:17):
and been through together. And I'm just I'm going to
miss him and we're going to miss him. I mean,
he's he's just a huge part of everything there. There's
so much more that goes into being a general manager
than just you know, making draft picks and signing free agencies.
You're literally managing everybody in the organization from day to day.
(39:38):
And Bob's the master he is.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
He has an incredible way of making people feel good
about themselves and yet making people feel accountable, uh at
the same time, and wanting people, you know, making people
want to do their best not for him, but for
the group and for yourself. You you know, he's constantly
(40:01):
challenging all of us to be our best, but without
sort of putting pressure on it on us, if that
makes sense. You know, he's got an amazing way about him.
Speaker 3 (40:11):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Absolutely. And last one before we get out of here.
You and I both have had the honor or I mean,
not really a pleasure of playing for an ownership group
that wants to win, that's willing to go the lengths
that they need to go to win. And listen, Joe
(40:35):
can be tough at times. And I think you know,
we all know Joe can be tough at times because
he has the same thing that me and you have.
He just hate to lose, and losing for him it
drives him up a wall, Joe like myself, whereas his
emotions on his sleeves. But at the end of it,
you can always turn back and say, I know that
(40:56):
guy want to win as.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Bad or more then we want to win.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
And just how important it is having an ownership group
that's willing to go those lengths to put us in
the best position we can to win championships.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah, I mean, you know, when I was a player,
the Warriors were kind of a laughing stock, to be
honest with you, and so when Joe bought the team,
the mentality shifted. The mentality went to, hey, this is
this is going to be a winning situation, and and
everything that he's done has been with that thought. In mind.
(41:32):
He's just win and he's proven that with his checkbook,
he's proven that with his intentions, you know, over the
last decade plus and and I know that's never going
to change. So the collaboration that we've had, we've all had,
has been amazing and obviously we want to keep it going.
So hopefully we can we can do that, and uh,
(41:54):
you know, we're we're lucky to have been part of
all this, for sure, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Absolutely absolutely, Coach. I can't thank you enough. The first
and rightfully so, like the first guess of Champs Only,
Like for those of you out there listening, champs only
were coming on here, we're talking about this game, and
we're talking about championship things. Hence the fact Champs Only.
If you're not a champion, I love you. I'm sorry.
(42:22):
We gotta have champs and we just had one of
the greatest champs ever in NBA history, nine time Champs
Coach Steve Kerr.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
I can't thank you enough, coach coming on the show, Thank.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
You, appreciate you. Dread that was fun.
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Just a reminder you can catch me recording this podcast
live on amp amp is a new live radio app
that lets you call in and chat with me in
person while I'm recording. Get the app on Apple's app
store and make sure to follow me at at Draymond
Green to get notified when I go live. So what's up, everybody?
(00:28):
Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. As you can
probably see by the title of this podcast, as you
can see by the promo of this podcast, we were
too excited to actually like keep the surprise until it
just popped up in your face.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Our guest, my guy, coach Kerr. We spoke about.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Some great things and you will get have the opportunity
to hear that shortly. But I wanted to get on
here and mention something that I saw in the first
quarter before we roll into that. So and then I'll
let you get Steve got gyms okay, Like he is
the guy you're talking to, justments, we talk the jutments,
you're talking mindset nine time champion, like it's not an accident.
(01:11):
And then people try and say he didn't play much
with the bulls. It's not an accident. Winners win never
forget it. And on Champs Only today coach Kerr gave
some gyms. It was great to hear. I enjoyed it.
I know you all will. But one thing that I
saw before we go into that during the game today,
(01:34):
and it's unfortunately they didn't win, because this will be
a much cooler story if they want. But I'm happy
to see a good series tied up one one at
the end of the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And remember I'm always watching the game.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Within the game, I'm always watching other guys' reactions to
see if I can play on that. Like I'm you know,
I talk. I like to talk, and I like to
stir up the pot a little bit. And like you
watch other guys actions on teams to see if you
can play on that, like if I can get under skin,
if I can get them to go against each other.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
All that's a part of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And in the field of war, like you have to
find your angles when you're out there on that court,
and that's just that. And one thing I saw at
the end of the first quarter, Jamal Murray had the
ball and as you can recall it, maybe you can't,
but you can go back and check it out. Jamal
Murray had the ball at the end of the first
quarter and Jackson's great.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
So Jackson all clipping and short teeth.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
And he started getting his package and Joker popped open,
and Joker was wild, and Joker like thought he was
about to get the ball for a wide open three,
and then he realized Jamal wasn't passing it, and Jamal
start dancing, dancing and step back, and like, the right
play would have been to throw the ball to Joker
and let him shoot it because he was wide open.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Jamal had drawn two. Did your job.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
But Jamal is also a big shot taker and a
big shot maker, so he wants that moment when that's
going on. As you can see down stretch into the game,
he was taking all of those shots and he got
them right back in and they had had a chance
to tie it up and say it overtime, but he
stepped back, step back, shot the ball and missed it.
And what you will see in most situations like that
(03:18):
with a lot of guys is they dropped their head,
they slumped their shoulders, they say, come on, hold, just
stand there, hold their hands like this right, like making
it obvious that they were open by the way I've
done it, like I've we all do it. Like Joker
clapped his hand, but it was like a clap, like ah,
(03:41):
he barely missed, like almost. It wasn't like a clap.
I should have got the ball. Shoulders did not drop
a centimeter. Body language did not change, not one bit.
And that's why they're in the NBA Finals because the
confidence that that gives coming from Joker to Jamal Murray,
(04:04):
like take that shot.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
It's no surprise to me.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Jamal Murray hit those shots late because he know the
guy isn't gonna slump his shoulders. He know the guy
isn't gonna say, oh, give me the ball. That's how
you make guys around you better. And Jamal Murray is
an incredible player in his own right, don't get me wrong,
but Joker's Joker. That's how you give guys confidence. And
I thought that was really interesting to see. It says
(04:28):
a lot about their chemistry, it says a lot about
their team and why they are where they are. So
as you know, I'm always trying to help you guys
see the game within the game. I think if everyone
understands this game from a better place, it only makes
our game that we all love. Fans, players, you name it,
the basketball community. It only makes the game that we
(04:49):
all love better. So I like to share those things.
But now let's get into the guy, My guy Stevie Kerr.
June is a championship month for sports. Pro basketball, hockey,
college baseball, and softball championships all underway, and of course
(05:11):
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(05:33):
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Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's g r.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
N for twenty dollars off. No matter where you live,
get out and have some fun this week. Download game
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thankful for this guy in my life, super important. Has
helped me grow as a man, has helped me grow
as a player. And I promised you all a surprise
(05:59):
guest with him in mind, and he had not confirmed,
but I just trusted that he would look out for
me as he always does, and he did. He came
through for me. So the surprise is here today's episode.
This is called the Draymond Green Show Champs Only Edition,
and what that means is we have a guest that's
(06:22):
going to break this game down. And when you're talking
playoff adjustments, when you're talking to someone who's not afraid
to pull a trigger on a lineup, on a defensive scheme,
you name it. The best in the business here to
break down the game with us. Today we have nine
(06:43):
time NBA champion, the best coach in the NBA coach,
Steve Kerr.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Welcome to the show, Dre.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You're too kind. It's good to be with you.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
As I told you and I shared this on here,
I don't mind telling the world this I learned.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I have learned so much from you.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
About winning, like simply on how to win, like there's
no mistake. Last maybe two episodes ago, I was speaking
on this list of guys who's won all the championships
and in our lifetime, and you're right at the top.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Of that list with nine championships.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I know a couple of years ago, you know, I
was talking about championship, like, wow, we have three and
you like, you guys got three. I got eight, and
you kept that right and you kept that right at
the top. And now we're at four, you're at nine.
It's incredible. But number one, I just want to say
for everything that you've taught me, thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
No and thank you, because I mean people who watch
us play and follow our team, I think they know
it really is a collaboration, you know. And that's what
I learned from my coaches. I mean, I was so
blessed to play for the greatest coaches ever, you know,
Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich, Lenny Wilkins, coach Loud Olsen
(08:07):
in college. I mean all Hall of famers and Len,
Lenny and uh and Phil and Pop in the NBA
in particular, we're all collaborators. And and that's really what
I learned from them was that number one, you're you're
only as good as your players in the NBA. Number two,
(08:27):
if you do have players, then uh, you've got to
collaborate with them and and and and figure it out
as a group. And that's been really I think what
has been most fun during our run here, you know,
during my time with you and Steph and Clay and
Andrea and the whole group. We do it together and
we figure it out and we find a way.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Absolutely, And I mean especially during the playoffs, and it's
like during that time of year, it's just like a
magic it's a buzz. We walk in the room, he's
just you see your wheels spinning.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's like zooding out of you. And we come in,
we have.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
A few suggestions and whether those suggestions, I think the
thing that I can always appreciate as a player is
like whether we go with that suggestion or not. It's heard,
it's carefully thought out, and it's like, Okay, here's what
we're going to do, and Hairs, why if this and
we have an adjustment in the bank if we need
(09:26):
to go to it and Harri's what it'll be, and
it's it's just like it's never turned on deaf ears,
whether it's we go with it or not. And I
can always appreciate that as a player, especially as you know,
I always got something to say, so I can always
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Well, We've had we've had a lot of great coaches
on our staffs, and that's what makes it so fun.
You're right, I mean, the playoffs are the best time
of year for sure. And when you go into every
series and uh, you know, you have an idea of
what you want to do, and then from game to
game making these adjustments. It's so different from the regular season.
(10:02):
You know, regular season, you're you're just trying to get
to the next game and get through the through the
year and keep your guys healthy and confident, keep everybody
you know moving forward and feeling good about themselves. And
and then the playoffs coming, it's you throw everything out
the window. It's just when it's just pure basketball, nothing
else matters, and from one game to the next, like
(10:24):
you just you just you know, you see stuff that
you you have to do or that you might want
to do, and and you make these changes. You hope
they work, and if they don't, you try something different.
It's so fun. It's it's the best time of year.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Absolutely, I can agree.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Well, speaking of that and getting into a night's game,
I know you watched the game as soon as we
hopped on, You're like, man, that game was exciting as hell.
First time and your coaching career that you're not headed
to the NBA Finals and you were in the playoffs.
(11:03):
How how much is it I know it has to
be burning you because it's burning me, But how much
is it burning you to be sitting here watching.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
And not us not participating in this game or this series.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Yeah, I mean it's on the one hand, it's burning
me up. On the other hand, I just sort of,
you know, count my blessings like I think. You know,
I've been coaching the team nine years. We missed the
playoffs twice, and six of the seven years we made
the finals. So this is the first year, like you said,
(11:37):
first year we haven't made the finals. But who gets
to say that? I mean, that's just there's so much
good fortune, you know, And I'm not trying to be modest.
You know, we have a great staff and we work
hard and all that stuff. But you know, so much
of coaching is just you know, who you get to
(11:58):
coach and the players, that talent that you have, the competitiveness,
and we've had such an incredible group. So this year
was we came up short. It's no fun watching the finals.
But at the same time, we don't deserve to be there.
You know, we weren't looking, So you know, I can
(12:20):
live with that.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
We got to get better, no doubt, no doubt. And
I think, you know, sometimes you have to lose to win,
you know. And I think for us, this allows us
to reset.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
This allows us to go back and say, all right,
here are some things we didn't do.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's great. It's tough to do that.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It's coming off a championship sometimes, So I think this
will be great for us and I'm excited about it.
But and speaking of tonight's game, You've always been a coach,
I mean, dating back to twenty fifteen, that it's not
afraid to pull the trigger on an adjustment, whether it's
a lineup change in the middle of a series, whether
(12:59):
the it's total going away from a guy because you
think this just is a serious You've You've been known,
I mean, you're known for doing that.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
And the Heat did that tonight with Kevin Love.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
They went back to Kevin Love over Cayleb Martin in
the Star lineup. What is it in coming into your
coaching career that made you comfortable with making those adjustments
moving Andre into the Star lineup in the NBA Finals,
moving Andre to the bench to start a season, Like,
what is it or where did you learn that coming
(13:32):
into I mean, you're a rookie coach when you came in.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, I think when I think back to twenty fifteen,
the biggest move we made was in the second round
when we were playing Memphis and we were down to
one and Ron Adams suggested that we put Andrew Bogan
on Tony Allen in Memphis and they were just controlling
(13:55):
the tempo. And I remember we were on the plane
when he said it, and I remember thinking, why, you know,
why would we do that like that? That seems crazy.
And so the more we watched film, the more I
could picture it, and then we did it. It was
like magic. It's like, oh my god, this changed everything.
(14:15):
And that was my first experience as a coach where
I realized one matchup change, just one move, can change
a series dramatically. I didn't really know it at the time,
but because we had such a great staff and a
veteran group with Alvin Gentry and and Ron, you know,
(14:36):
those guys had been through it before, so they taught
me like, one one lineup change, one one matchup change, Uh,
it literally can shift everything. And so from then on
it was like, okay, now now I get it, you know,
and you can you can really you can really make
a shift with with some subtle moves.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Absolutely, I remember that like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
It put Memphis in touch in such a tough spot
because Tony Allen was so good defensively. Tony Allen's one
of the best defenders I've ever played against, and he
wasn't guarding me but just in watching. And we hurt
them so bad on the offensive end that they end
up having to take him off the floor, and it
just opened our offense up to do everything once he
(15:22):
came off the floor.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
It was huge.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, And getting to tonight's game, Uh, you know, Joker,
another great game. Forty one points, eleven rebounds, but only
four sists.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
What do you make of that stat?
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah? You know, we we talked about this last year
when when we played Denver. You know, we we just
felt the same way that Miami felt tonight, like like
he's just so good as a passer, and I think
I think that's what he likes to do best. Let's
makes him go and what makes their team go. And
(16:03):
they're so much better now than they were a year ago,
obviously because of Jamal Murray being healthy, Michael Porter being healthy,
adding KCP and Bruce Brown, they got more size in
the backcourd. So they're a great, great team. But I
do think what Miami did tonight, you know, they they said,
(16:24):
all right, we're going to make Jokic your score. Let's
take away other people. And then the big one I
thought was, you know, you mentioned them starting love that
allowed Jimmy Butler to guard Murray, And to me, it
was like, I don't you know, I haven't talked to
Spoe or anything like that, but I can see them
in their coaches meetings saying Murray's the head of the snake,
(16:46):
you know, not not Yoka, Like like, if you just
look at it, you go, well, Jokic is ahead of snake.
When you play a team, you sort of realize, wait
a second, like that guy's gonna he's going to dominate
no matter what we do. So we got this is
the head of this and I think they just decided
Murray's the guy we got to stop. So you start love,
put Jimmy Butler on Murray, and then you saw like
(17:08):
they were blitzing m Murray quite a bit and really
trying everything to take him out of the game.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, I thought I thought that was very interesting because
it made it extremely tough on Murray.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
It didn't allow for those.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Pocket There was a point where they like went to
that matchup zone and they were like switching anyone on
the Joker.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I thought that was extremely interesting because last game. After
last game, I spoke about like some of the possible
justments they can make, and I was saying, put Jimmy
Butler on Murray, you keep Bam on Joker.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But now you read that pick and roll with them.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
As you know, having Bam with us in the Olympics,
Bam can guard anyone and and Jimmy will put up
a fight, but it keeps those guys in front. And
now you're not getting the back door cuts, Joker's not
getting ten assists and it and it forces it buy
a struggle all of a sudden, k CPS threes weren't
going in because they didn't get those at the beginning
(18:05):
of the game.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And so I thought, uh, that was an interesting one.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah. Yeah, I think that against every team. You know,
in the playoffs, you're you're you're just trying to take
them out of rhythm. You know, you're you're you just
want to make them. You know, we always use the
Belichick line, you know, make them play left handed. You know,
he's famous for that, like trying to trying to take
a team's strengths, take that away and make them do
(18:32):
something different. And I think that's what the playoffs are
all about. You get these great players like Jokicchen you
have to figure out, Okay, well, like what are we
going to possibly do with this guy? And uh and
it's more, you know, you're not going to stop him,
So how can we make the team slightly uncomfortable? How
can we take them out of their patterns that they're
(18:53):
so used to? And I thought Miami did an amazing
job of that tonight.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Yeah, I definitely thought they'd as well.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Miami.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
One thing I noticed I've noticed about their offense, but
especially it's been showing up as of late really and this.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Well, this today showed up.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
But also in that Boston series, they run a lot
of stuff out of the high splits, kind of like
God of State.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
But I thought it was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Duncan Robinson couldn't get a shot off the first three quarters,
couldn't get an attempt, and then all of a sudden
he goes for ten quick points to start the fourth quarter,
and it changes everything.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Do you think and watching.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Them play the Miami heat, that something similar to what
we were doing against Sack would be beneficial against them
because they got these guards coming flying off handoffs.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
BAM's a great playmaker.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Then Bam has the fake keeps or he's just moving
in and going to the next But they got these
guards jokers down the floor, but they're letting everything up
the floor.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, yeah, well, I mean that might be Denver's adjustment.
And that's the beauty of the playoffs, is you know,
that's the next thing they got to figure out if
they want to take away all those drible handoffs. I mean,
how many how many buckets did Bam get on the
pocket pass after those dhos? You know, Lowery had several
(20:26):
beautiful passes to him on the second half down the stretch.
Both Struce and Robinson made made good passes to him.
So that that'll be really interesting to see. Does Denver,
you know, try to just denial those drible handoffs, send
everything to the rim and have Jokic just sit back
(20:48):
there and and and that would be you know, one
way of Denver saying trying to do the same thing
that Miami did tonight in terms of take away a
team's pattern, try to make him do something different.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Absolutely, Miami's been going to the zone and and now
two games in a row it's really stifled Denver in
the fourth quarter. When when you're going zone as a coach, like,
obviously that's a new thing in the NBA. It hasn't
always been a big thing, but like as of late,
(21:23):
you're starting to see more and more.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Teams, Uh, go zone.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
What are you hoping to accomplish as a coach, Like
when when you're going to that zone like Miami's did
both fourth quarters.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Now, I think again it's it's take away the pattern,
take away the comfort zone. You know, the Murray Yokics
two man game down the stretch, you you said it
already like they were in a kind of a funky
matchup zone. Miami was, but they just kept switching the
pick and roll, the high pick and roll, and then
they were zoned up behind it. And so I think
(21:57):
Miami's probably the best zone team and the year in
the league. You probably remember early in the season we
had a lead down the stretch in Miami and they
played zone the last five minutes and stifled us. And
they they run some interesting stuff. It's they they've got
a couple of different zones that they run. The one
tonight looked like a matchup zone, like almost like a
(22:21):
hybrid type thing, like maybe they made it up on
the fly during the finals. You know. But they are
they're really good. I mean, they're just they're they're tough minded,
they're so well coachedos amazing, and they just don't make mistakes,
you know. I think they had twenty eight assists eleven turnovers.
They don't beat themselves. You know, they had that one
(22:42):
stretch early second quarter where they turned it over a
few times, Denver made their run and got control of
the game. I'd like to see the number of turnovers
Miami had in the second half. I'll bet it was,
you know, three or four. They just don't they don't
give you anything.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
No.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I thought, that's that's for sure. And on oppositely, and
Denver couldn't stop.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Turning it over.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah, I thought Joker has some uncharacteristic turnovers that he
don't normally have as well.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, and I think it was because they were taking
out of those comfort zone patterns that they have. So
that's the that's the idea with not only the zone,
but changing up the matchups and and uh, you know,
getting Butler on on Murray so that you you have
more athleticism and size against them on the pick and roll.
Like you said, the ability to switch with bam And
(23:34):
and Jimmy on that pick and roll. So I thought
Miami was was phenomenal tonight.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Yeah, they were great. A couple couple of rotation things.
Like I said just top of the show, you're one
of the best at that. Max Streuss comes out fire
and he's knocking him down. He gets it going, he
doesn't really play. In the fourth quarter, they go Duncan.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Robinson who who.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Again hadn't been able to get a shot off. How
do you make that decision? Like in that moment, you're like,
all right, we're going away from Strus who had it
going early, essentially going to Duncan who hasn't gotten anything going. Like,
as a coach, how are you making that decision in
the moment like that on like which one of those
(24:22):
guys you're going with?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
I think you have to establish that all season long,
like with with your team, the message has to be
whoever has it going is going to play, and the
guys have to be connected enough to not only understand that,
but to embrace it. You know, Caleb Martin was the
star of the Boston series. You know, he's hardly been
(24:47):
a factor in this series. Offensively, didn't play much, but
he hit a huge three in the you know, in
the fourth quarter tonight. And it's like none of those
guys on Miami or are are sitting there saying, well,
I didn't play or man, they put in so and so,
Like they're just all about winning. And you know this
(25:08):
from from our our groups that we've had. When when
you when you have that championship mentality, every guy's bought in.
Every guy is just trying to win. Nobody nobody cares
about any of that stuff. You don't go into the
locker room, you know, saying well I should have played more.
You just you just want to win. And that's the
beauty of finding that magic when you have a championship team,
(25:32):
is that everybody's bought in, and it makes the decisions
for the coach really simple. You just go with go
with your gut, and go with whoever's playing.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Well. Another question.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Or something that I noticed in this game, and I
just wonder as I'm sitting here, wondering, Oh, I'm sitting
here watching. I was wondering, like, at what point do
you scrap your lineups? Because and so watching this game,
if you notice, I.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Know you noticed Miami.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Miami's lineups with Jimmy on the floor in the first half,
they couldn't get it. They couldn't get it, like they
turned the ball over every playing They couldn't even get
a shot up. And I thought it was interesting to
see Jimmy off the floor at the same time as Joker,
and then he was coming back in, Like why not
take advantage of those like have Jimmy on the floor
(26:32):
win Jokers not on the floor to take advantage of
a non Joker minutes. But it also keeps him on
Murray because in that first half, Murray had eight points.
They were all in transition. Jimmy was into him to
start that game, and then Jimmy comes out, he gets
it going and they end up going up like eleven
points before Jimmy can get back in the game. At
what point in the series are you looking at that
(26:53):
and you're like, all right, maybe we need to stifle
our minutes a bit and get this guy on the floor, Like.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
How how deep in the series. Do you have to
be to start thinking that way?
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, I think it just depends on how you feel
as a coach, as a staff about the flow of
the game, you know. And I think Miami left that
first game not feeling great about the way things went,
and they said, all right, we got to make our
adjustments now. We're not going to wait till game three.
I think, you know, our series against the Lakers, by
(27:29):
the end, Shrewder was just going to be on Steph
no matter when Steph was on the floor. So I
think they started him game six. Whenever Steph came out,
Shrewder came out. Ever, Steph went back in, Shrouder went
back in. And I think that's a that's a pretty
common theme in these playoff series. If there's one guy
(27:50):
that you know you have to slow down, you just
put your best defender on him and you just mirror
the matchup. I think I think Miami did that in
the second and a half. I don't think they did
that in the first half, did they? When Rory got
going a little bit, Butler was not on the floor, right.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
He wasn't on the floor, and that's when they made
that run.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Yeah, So I think that was the adjustment they made
in the second half. As soon as soon as Murray
went to the bench, Jimmy went to the bench. As
soon as he came back to the scorer's table, Jimmy
went right.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Back to another adjustment.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Thing I talked earlier on here in the playoffs about
our biggest adjustment. And one thing that you've another thing
that you've taught me is just always the force that
you play with. I think anytime we lose a game,
or almost lose game or anything, you always come in
and you say, hey, here's our We have some things
that we're going to work on, I mean, some things
(28:47):
that we're going to change up. We have some ideas,
but our biggest adjustment is always going.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
To be forced.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
And you you always say that, why do you think
it's so important? But also so difficult to that because
I actually thought coming out today, and I also spoke
about this last time in Game one, Miami was on
the verge of getting blown out and they reeled it
(29:13):
back in a little bit, and I said, listen, if
I'm the Denver Nuggets, I actually feel great about that
because we didn't blow them out. So now they're not
coming in with the added extra fire that you know
a team comes in with when they've get blown when
they've gotten blown out. However, I thought at the beginning
of this game, and I would love to know if
you saw the same thing, I thought Denver came out
(29:34):
passive like they they came out lack of aggression. It
kind of looked like a regular season game. And Miami
got their footing right away. I think they started off
the game up ten to two, and it just looked
like they that Denver lost the force.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Did you see that same thing? Was that your?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah? I mean I thought it was more that Miami
just brought the force. And that's you know, human nature.
You're down and oh and you got two off days
and you're sitting in your hotel room in Denver and
you're you know, you're pissed off, and all the media
is saying this is going to be a sweep or
five games and Miami has no chance. It's just human nature,
(30:14):
you know, you come out angry and and with Denver
it's probably probably the flip side of that. It's like
you don't think you're going to be complacent, but you
probably are a little bit. And that's all it takes.
There's such a slight difference between you know, really playing
with an edge and not playing with an edge. It's
(30:35):
just a minor thing, but it's there. That's the you know,
the difference between two great teams in the finals. It's
just you know, who's going to be a split second
quicker to the loose ball. Who's going to be you know,
just a little more forceful with every action. And you
can see it right away. Miami was they came out,
(30:55):
they were angry, and they they played with more competitive
juice and they set the tone early.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Your Denver.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
One one headed on the road, you just saw the game.
What's your number one adjustment going into next game? If
you're Denver on how you're going to get this series
back under your control.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
It's a good question. I mean, I think number one
that you know, like like we just talked about, your
first adjustment is the force that you come with the intent,
that you're playing with the purpose. And then you know,
as far as any tactical adjustments, that's what the next
two days or four you know, I always felt like,
(31:38):
you know, every time we would finish a playoff game,
I would I'd be reluctant to say anything to you
guys right afterwards, because I'd always want to look at
the tape first to confirm any thoughts that I have,
And sometimes I was, you know, i'd be way off, like,
you know, I'd want to go in and say one thing,
and and and I'd watched the tape and I go, no, No,
(32:01):
that actually wasn't the key to the game. This was,
you know. So I think that's what the next two
days are about for Mike Malone and his staff is
trying to figure out do they want to make some adjustments.
Maybe it's what you talked about, taking away some of
those drouble handoffs, you know, top locking the shooters, sending
them down, maybe something like that. I doubt it's a
(32:21):
personnel change because I think Denver is really solid with
their starting group. Uh, they're the favorite in this series.
I don't think they have to panic or anything. I
just think it's probably playing with more intent and maybe
maybe you know, a tactical a slight tactical change somewhere.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
When you're playing, Like like Spostra, as we spoke about,
sposal is great. He has the experience edge over Mike Malone.
You're now in a position where I mean almost any
coach in the league, with the exception of Pop, You're
going to have the experienced edge over damn near any
(33:04):
coach in the league. When as a coach, I know
when I go out there as a player and I'm
looking at those guys, the one thing I have in
the back of my mind is that I know how
like that we've done this, we know how to do it.
When you're going up against another coach, say supposed to
against Mike Malone, are you feeling that as a coach
as well? Like what I know, we've been in this
situation before that we don't know if he's going to panic,
(33:27):
you know, because he hasn't been. Like, are you feeling
that as a coach? And you were a player, so
you know how it feels as a player. Do you
get that same feeling as a coach as you do
as players?
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Think you consider it, and I think in this particular series,
Mike Malone has a lot of experience, Like the continuity
of the two organizations is a big reason why they're
both here. And all you have to do is think back.
You know two years ago, you know, Denver came back
(33:59):
twice in the bubble from three to one deficits. They
won two straight series down three to one. Mike Malons
a hell of a coach. They have continuity with their players,
with the staff, so they will come out with resolve
and with some adjustments, and they have been through these wars. Now,
(34:21):
maybe not in the finals, and there is a little
different vibe in the finals, but I think these two
games now they've kind of felt it. I mean, I
would ask you you remember our first trip in twenty fifteen,
in those first two finals games feel weird, like they're
so different than a regular game.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
No, they are, I mean, and it was crazy because
you told us, You're like, all right, guys, it's the Finals.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Now, all of this is going to be different.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
The practices are different, you got media there, everything's going
to be different. You now have family in town the
entire time, and you kind of warned us of all
of those things. And yet we got into those first
two games like WHOA like totally different vibe.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Yeah, I thought, I thought that was very interesting. And
and then.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
You see like like we had the opportunity to see
the Celtics and you know, go through that last year,
and I thought, if you think back to Game one,
we took We took advantage of it for the first half,
really the first three quarters, and then it's like they
found their foot in, they got a little more comfortable,
guys start hitting the shots, and the game got away
from Obviously we ended up finishing it, but he saw
(35:33):
us a little bit of that same thing.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
I think. I always felt like the hardest thing is
practicing in the arena instead of at your practice facility.
You know, it's the only time all year where you know, somebody,
somebody tells you okay, you're not allowed to practice in
your practice facility. You know, so you practice at the
arena and like five hundred media members are going to
(35:58):
come in for the last five minutes, the first five
minutes of practice or not actually like first twenty minutes. Yes,
so you have to put on like a fake practice
in the finals where it's like, all right, guys, do
three man weave or you know, like what are we doing?
And it's crazy because you you know, it's like you're
playing for the biggest prize, you know, the biggest games
(36:19):
of your life, and you're not allowed to follow your
routine and you guys, as individual players, can't get your
usual shooting time that you get on your home floor
practice floor, because on the practice floor you got six hoops,
six empty hoops. In the main area there's only two hoops,
(36:41):
so you can't do the same routine. It's to me,
it's nuts, but it's all part of the media obligations
that both teams.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Have, absolutely, absolutely now Coach, this has been great. As
you know, I could sit and talk basketball you all right,
and I want to let you enjoy your Sunday. But
before we get out of here, due to my love
for him, and I know your love for him, I'd
be remiss if we got on here and we didn't
mention Bob Myers.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
I know what he's meant to me in my career, and.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Man, I I'm not gonna I was having a conversation
today with someone and I start talking about some of
the things that I've gone through, like as a player,
like and not some of the things that I've gone through.
You know, all the shit that I've caused myself. It's
out there like I've gone through something that somebody else
calls it's self inflicted wounds that I've had over the
(37:37):
course of your teenure. Here us, you know, us being
together and we were speaking about it, and he was like, man,
I forgot all of that shit.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
You've done a lot of shit. I trust me. Not
for one second do I go home and not think.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
These guys have had my back, like you, Bob, through
things that I've gone through. I mean, the camera caught
you one time like I'm sick of Draymond shit, and
and I was like, that sucks. I can't believe he
said that. And I had to take a step back,
like I'd be sick of Draymond shit too, So like,
(38:13):
and I understand, you know what you've done for me.
I understand you know what Bob's done for me and
what you guys have meant to me in my life
and my career.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
And I just wanted to give you an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
You know, Bob's been here, your entire journey, how that
journey's been with him to see him go, just your
feelings and your thoughts on it.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, well, you know I mentioned early in the podcast,
just the fact that it's a collaboration, and Bob is
a huge part of the collaboration, and he and I
have been partners in this thing for nine years. You know,
he hired me, he was here before. I was I
don't know what it's going to be like without him.
(38:55):
There's already like a really hollow feeling just knowing he's
not going to be in the building every day. There's
an incredible friendship there, an incredible uh sense of gratitude
that I have for Bob for everything that we've shared
(39:17):
and been through together. And I'm just I'm going to
miss him and we're going to miss him. I mean,
he's he's just a huge part of everything there. There's
so much more that goes into being a general manager
than just you know, making draft picks and signing free agencies.
You're literally managing everybody in the organization from day to day.
(39:38):
And Bob's the master he is.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
He has an incredible way of making people feel good
about themselves and yet making people feel accountable, uh at
the same time, and wanting people, you know, making people
want to do their best not for him, but for
the group and for yourself. You you know, he's constantly
(40:01):
challenging all of us to be our best, but without
sort of putting pressure on it on us, if that
makes sense. You know, he's got an amazing way about him.
Speaker 3 (40:11):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Absolutely. And last one before we get out of here.
You and I both have had the honor or I mean,
not really a pleasure of playing for an ownership group
that wants to win, that's willing to go the lengths
that they need to go to win. And listen, Joe
(40:35):
can be tough at times. And I think you know,
we all know Joe can be tough at times because
he has the same thing that me and you have.
He just hate to lose, and losing for him it
drives him up a wall, Joe like myself, whereas his
emotions on his sleeves. But at the end of it,
you can always turn back and say, I know that
(40:56):
guy want to win as.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Bad or more then we want to win.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
And just how important it is having an ownership group
that's willing to go those lengths to put us in
the best position we can to win championships.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Yeah, I mean, you know, when I was a player,
the Warriors were kind of a laughing stock, to be
honest with you, and so when Joe bought the team,
the mentality shifted. The mentality went to, hey, this is
this is going to be a winning situation, and and
everything that he's done has been with that thought. In mind.
(41:32):
He's just win and he's proven that with his checkbook,
he's proven that with his intentions, you know, over the
last decade plus and and I know that's never going
to change. So the collaboration that we've had, we've all had,
has been amazing and obviously we want to keep it going.
So hopefully we can we can do that, and uh,
(41:54):
you know, we're we're lucky to have been part of
all this, for sure, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Absolutely absolutely, Coach. I can't thank you enough. The first
and rightfully so, like the first guess of Champs Only,
Like for those of you out there listening, champs only
were coming on here, we're talking about this game, and
we're talking about championship things. Hence the fact Champs Only.
If you're not a champion, I love you. I'm sorry.
(42:22):
We gotta have champs and we just had one of
the greatest champs ever in NBA history, nine time Champs
Coach Steve Kerr.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
I can't thank you enough, coach coming on the show, Thank.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
You, appreciate you. Dread that was fun.
Host
Draymond Green
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