Steve Kerr reacts to Nuggets-Heat Game 2: Jokic's big night + Miami's strategy | Draymond Green Show

What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. So what's up everybody? 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. Our guest, My guy, Coach Kerr. We spoke about 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 gems, okay? Like he is the guy, you're talking adjustments, we talked adjustments, you're talking mindset, 9-time champion. Like it's not an accident. And then people will try to say, oh, 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 gems. 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, and—

I'm sorry.

It's unfortunate they didn't win because this would be a much cooler story if they won. But I'm happy to see a good series tied up 1-1. At the end of the first quarter, and remember I'm always watching the game within the game. I'm always watching other guys' reactions to see if I can play on that. Like I'm a, 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' reactions 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. All that's a part of it, you know, 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, 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. So Jackson will clip it and show it to you. And he started getting in his package and Joker popped open and Joker was wide and Joker like thought he was about to get the ball for a wide open 3. And then he realized Jamal wasn't passing it. And Jamal started dancing, dancing and step back. And like the right play would've been to throw the ball to Joker and let him shoot it because he was wide open. Jamal had drawn 2, did your job. 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 the stretch into the game, He was taking all of those shots and he got them right back in and they had a chance to tie it up and send it to overtime. But he stepped back, trah-dah-dah, stepped back, shot the ball and missed it. And what you will see in most situations like that with a lot of guys is they drop their head, they slump their shoulders. They say, "Come on," or, "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, he barely missed. Like, ah, almost. It wasn't like a clap, I should have got the ball. Shoulders did not drop a centimeter. Body language did not— Yeah. 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, like, take that shot. It's no surprise to me 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's an incredible player in his own right, don't get me wrong, but Joker is Joker. That's how you give guys confidence. And I thought that was really interesting to see. It says 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 all love better. So I like to share those things. Draymond Green. 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, pro baseball is in full swing. For last-minute amazing deals on tickets to whatever your favorite sport may be, check out GameTime. And it doesn't stop at sports. GameTime even has tickets to concerts and comedy shows too. Download the GameTime app and redeem code GREEN for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, download the GameTime app and enter code GREEN. That's G-R-E-E-N for $20 off. No matter where you live, get out and have some fun this week. Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. I'm very 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 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 gonna break this game down. And when you're talking playoff adjustments, when you're talking 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 9-time NBA champion, the best coach in the NBA, Coach Steve Kerr. Welcome to the show.

Ah, Draymond Green, you're too kind. It's good to be with you.

I'm so excited. I, as I told you and I shared this on here, I don't mind telling the world this. I learned, I have learned so much from you. About winning, like simply on how to win. Like there's no mistake. Last, maybe 2 episodes ago, I was speaking on this list of guys who's won all the championships in our lifetime. And you're right at the top of that list with 9 championships. I know a couple years ago, you know, I was talking about championships like, "Wow, we have 3." And you like, "You guys got 3, I got 8." And you kept that right. And you kept that right at the top. And now we're at 4, you're at 9. It's incredible. But number one, I just wanna say for everything that you've taught me, thank you.

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 Lute Olsen in college. I mean, all Hall of Famers. And Lenny and Phil and Pop in the NBA in particular were all collaborators. And that's really what I learned from them was that, number one, you're only as good as your players in the NBA. But number two, if you do have players, then you gotta collaborate with them 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 Klay and Andre and the whole group. We do it together and we figure it out and we find a way.

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, you just, you see your wheels spinning. It's like exuding outta you. And we come in, we have 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 are going to do and here's why. If this, and we have an adjustment in the bank if we need to go to it and here's what it'll be. And 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.

Well, we've had a lot of great coaches on our staffs and that's what makes this 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 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. Season, you know, regular season, you're just trying to get to the next game and get through the year and keep your guys healthy and confident, keep everybody, you know, moving forward and feeling good about themselves. And then the playoffs come and it's, you throw everything out the window. It's just win. It's just pure basketball. Nothing else matters. And from one game to the next, like you just, you know, you see stuff that you have to do or that you might want to do and— Draymond Green. And you make these changes, you hope they work, and if they don't, you try something different. It's so fun. It's the best time of year.

Absolutely, I can agree. Well, speaking of that, and getting into tonight's game, I know you watched the game as soon as we hopped on. You like, "Man, that game was exciting as hell." First time in your coaching career that you're not headed to the NBA Finals and you were in the playoffs. How much is it, I know it has to be burning you 'cause it's burning me, but how much is it burning you to be sitting here watching and not, us not participating in this game or this series?

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 9 years. We missed the playoffs twice, and 6 of the 7 years we made the Finals. So this is the first year, like you said, 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—

Yeah.

You know, so much of coaching is just, you know, who you get to coach and the players, the 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 good enough. So, you know, I can live with that. We gotta 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. This allows us to go back and say, all right, here are some things we didn't do as great. It's tough to do that 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 2015, that's not afraid to pull the trigger on an adjustment, whether it's a lineup change in the middle of a series, whether it's totally going away from a guy because you think this just isn't serious. You've been known, I mean, you're known for doing that. And the Heat did that tonight.

Mm-hmm.

With Kevin Love, they went back to Kevin Love, over Caleb 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 into, I mean, you're a rookie coach when you came in.

Yeah. I think when I think back to 2015, the biggest move we made was in the second round when we were playing Memphis and we were down 2-1. And Ron Adams suggested that we put Andrew Bogut on Tony Allen in Memphis. And they were just controlling the tempo. And I remember we were on the plane when he said it. And I remember thinking, why would we do that? Like, that seems crazy. And so the more we watched film, the more I could picture it. And then we, we did it. It was like magic. It was like, oh my God, this changed everything. 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, um, you know, those guys had been through it before. So they taught me, like, one, one lineup change, one matchup change, uh, it literally can shift everything. And so from then on, it was like, okay, now I get it, you know. And you can, um, you can really, you can really make a shift with, uh, with some subtle moves.

Absolutely. I remember that like it was yesterday. It put Memphis in such a tough spot because Tony Allen was so good defensively. Tony Allen's one 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 came off the floor. It was huge.

Yeah.

And getting to tonight's game, you know, Joker, another great game, 41 points, 11 rebounds. But only 4 assists. What do you make of that stat?

Yeah, you know, we talked about this last year when we played Denver. You know, we just felt the same way that Miami felt tonight. Like, he's just so good as a passer. And I think that's what he likes to do best. That's what makes him go and what makes their team go. And they're so much better now than they were a year ago, obviously. Obviously because of, um, Jamal Murray being healthy, Michael Porter being healthy, um, adding KCP and Bruce Brown. They got more size in the backcourt. So they're a great, great team. But, um, I, I do think, uh, what Miami did tonight, um, you know, they, they said, all right, we're going to make Jokic 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 Spo or anything like that, but I can see them in their coaches meeting saying Murray's the head of the snake, you know, not Jokic. Like, if you just look at it, you go, well, Jokic is the head of the snake. But when you play a team, you sort of realize, wait a second, like that guy's gonna, he's gonna dominate no matter what we do. So we got, this is the head of the snake. And I think they just decided Murray's the guy we gotta stop. So you start Love, you put Jimmy Butler on Murray, and then you saw like they were blitzing Murray quite a bit.

Yeah.

And really trying everything to take him outta the game.

Yeah, I thought that was very interesting 'cause it made it extremely tough on Murray. It didn't allow for those pocket, there was a point where they like went to that matchup zone and they were like switching anyone on the Joker.

Yeah, yeah.

And I thought that was extremely interesting because last game, after last game I spoke about like some of the possible adjustments they can make. And I was saying, put Jimmy Butler on Murray. You keep Bam on Joker, but now you read that pick and roll with them. As you know, having Bam with us in the Olympics, Bam can guard anyone.

Yeah.

And Jimmy will put up a fight, but it keeps those guys in front. And now you're not getting the backdoor cuts. Joker's not getting 10 assists. And it forces everybody to struggle. All of a sudden, KCP's threes weren't going in because they didn't get those at the beginning of the game. And so I thought, That was an interesting one.

Yeah, yeah. I think that against every team, you know, in the playoffs, you're just trying to take them outta rhythm. You know, you just wanna make them, you know, we always use the Belichick line, you know, make 'em play left-handed. You know, he's famous for that. Like trying to take a team's strengths, take that away and make them do something different. And I think that's what the playoffs are all about. You get these great players like Jokic and, you know, you have to figure out, okay, well, like, what are we gonna possibly do with this guy? And it's more, you know, you're not gonna stop him, so how can we make the team slightly uncomfortable? How can we take them out of their patterns that they're so used to? And I thought Miami did an amazing job of that tonight.

Yeah, I definitely thought they did as well. Miami, one thing I noticed, I've noticed about their offense, but especially it's been showing up as of late really. And this, well this today it showed up, but also in that Boston series, they run a lot of stuff out of the high splits, kind of like Golden State.

Mm-hmm.

But I thought it was very interesting. Duncan Robinson couldn't get a shot off the first 3 quarters, couldn't get an attempt.

Mm-hmm.

And then all of a sudden he goes for 10 quick points to start the fourth quarter and it changes everything. Do you think in watching them play the Miami Heat that something similar to what we were doing against Sac would be beneficial against them? Because they got these guards coming flying off handoffs. Bam's a great playmaker. Then Bam has the fake keeps or he's just moving it and going to the next side., but they got these guards and Joker's down the floor, but they're letting everything up the floor.

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 gotta figure out if they want to take away all those dribble handoffs. I mean, how many, how many buckets did Bam get on the pocket pass?

Yes.

After those DHOs, you know, Lowry had several beautiful passes to him in the second half down the stretch. Both Struis and Robinson made, made good passes to him. So that, that'll be really interesting to see. Does Denver, you know, try to just deny all those dribble handoffs, send everything to the rim and have Jokic just sit back 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 them do something different?

Absolutely. Miami's been going to this zone and now 2 games in a row, it's really stifled Denver in the 4th quarter. 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, you're starting to see more and more teams go zone. What are you hoping to accomplish as a coach? Like when you're going to that zone, like Miami's did both fourth quarters now.

I think again, it's take away the pattern, take away the comfort zone, you know, the Murray, Jokic two-man game down the stretch. 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 Miami's probably the best zone team in 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 5 minutes and stifled us. And they run some interesting stuff. It's, they've got a couple different zones that they run. The one tonight looked like a matchup zone, like almost like a 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. Um, they're so well coached. Spoh's amazing. And, uh, they just don't make mistakes, you know. I think they had, uh, 28 assists, 11 turnovers. They, they don't beat themselves, you know. They had that one stretch, um, 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, 3 or 4.

Um, yeah, they just don't, they don't give anything. No, I thought that's, that's for sure. And on the opposite end, Denver couldn't stop turning it over.

Yeah.

I thought Joker has some uncharacteristic turnovers that he don't normally have as well.

Yeah. And I think it was because they were taken 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, uh, you have more athleticism and size against them on the pick and roll Like you said, the ability to switch with Bam and Jimmy on that pick and roll. So I thought Miami was phenomenal tonight.

Yeah, they were great. Couple rotation things, like I said, just top of the show, you're one of the best at that. Max Strus comes out firing and he's knocking 'em down. He gets it going. He doesn't really play in the fourth quarter. They go Duncan Robinson, who 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 Struis 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 guys you're going with?

I think you have to establish that all season long, like with your team. The message has to be whoever has it going is gonna 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.

Yeah.

You know, he's hardly been a factor in this series offensively. Didn't play much. But he hit a huge 3 in the, you know, in the 4th quarter tonight. And it's like none of those guys on Miami 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 from our groups that we've had. When you have that championship mentality, every guy's bought in, every guy's just trying to win. 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 want to win. And that's the beauty of finding that magic when you have a championship team, is that everybody's bought in and it makes the decisions for the coach really simple. You just go with your gut and go with whoever's playing well.

Draymond Green. Another question or something that I noticed in this game, and I just wondered, like, as I'm sitting here wondering, or 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 know you noticed, Miami, Miami's lineups, With Jimmy on the floor in the first half, they couldn't get a, they couldn't get a, like they turned the ball over every play. 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 when Joker's not on the floor to take advantage of the non-Joker minutes. But it also keeps him on Murray because in that first half Murray had 8 points. They were all in transition. 'Cause Jimmy was into 'em to start that game. And then Jimmy comes out, he gets it going and they end up going up like 11 points before Jimmy can get back in the game. At what point in the series are you looking at that and you're like, all right, maybe we need to stifle our minutes a bit and get this guy on the floor. Like how deep in the series do you have to be to start thinking that way?

I think 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, I think Miami left that first game not feeling great about the way things went. And they said, all right, we gotta make our adjustments now. We're not gonna wait till game 3. I, I think, you know, our, our series against the Lakers, by the end, Schröder was just gonna be on Steph no matter when. Steph was on the floor. So I think they started him game 6. Whenever Steph came out, Schroeder came out. Whenever Steph went back in, Schroeder went back in. And I think that's a pretty common theme in these playoff series. If there's one guy that you know you have to slow down, you just put your best defender on him and you just mirror the matchup. I think Miami did that in the second half. Mm-hmm. I don't think they did that in the first half, did they? When Murray got going a little bit, Butler was not on the floor, right?

He wasn't on the floor.

Yeah.

And that's when they made that run.

Yeah. So I think that was the adjustment they made in the second half. 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 back to him.

Another adjustment 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 a game or anything, you always come in and you say, hey, here's our, we have some things that we're gonna work on. I mean, some things that we're gonna change up. We have some ideas, but our biggest adjustment is always gonna be force.

Mm-hmm.

And you always say that. Why do you think it's so important but also so difficult to do that? Because I actually thought, coming out today, and I also spoke about this last time, in Game 1, Miami was on the verge of getting blown out and they reeled it 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.

Mm-hmm.

So now they're not coming in with the added that extra fire that, you know, a team comes in with 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 passive. Like they came out lacking 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 10 to 2 and it just looked like they, that Denver lost the force.

Yeah.

Did you see that same thing? Was that your—

Yeah, I mean, I thought it was more that Miami just brought the force and that's, you know, human nature. You're down 1-0 and you got 2 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's saying this is gonna be a sweep or 5 games and Miami has no chance. It's just human nature. You know, you come out angry and, And with Denver, it's 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 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, they were angry, and they, they played with more competitive juice and they set the tone early.

You're Denver. 1-1 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?

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. Um, and then, you know, as far as any tactical adjustments, that's what the next two days are for, you know. Um, I always felt like, um, You know, every time we would finish a playoff game, I would be reluctant to say anything to you guys right afterwards, 'cause 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 then I'd watch the tape and I'd go, "No, no, that actually wasn't the key to the game. This was," you know?

Mm-hmm.

So I think that's what the next 2 days are about for Mike Malone and his staff is trying to figure out out? Do they want to make some adjustments? Maybe it's what you talked about, taking away some of those dribble handoffs, you know, top-locking the shooters, sending them down, maybe something like that. I doubt it's a personnel change because I think Denver is really solid with their starting group. 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 a, you know, a tactical a slight tactical change somewhere.

When you're playing like Spostra, as we spoke about, Spostra's great. He has the experience edge over Mike Malone. You're now in a position to where, I mean, almost any coach in the league with the exception of Pop, Spo, you're gonna have the experience edge over damn near any 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 Spoelstra against Draymond Green, are you feeling that as a coach as well? Like, well, I know we've been in this situation before that we don't know if he's gonna panic, 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?

I think you consider it. And I think in this particular series, Mike Malone has a lot of experience. 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, 2 years ago, Denver came back twice in the bubble from 3-1 deficits. They won 2 straight series down 3-1. Mike Malone's a hell of a coach.

Absolutely.

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, maybe not in the Finals, and there is a little different vibe in the Finals, but I think these 2 games now they've kind of felt it. I mean, I would ask you, you remember our first trip like in 2015? Didn't those first two Finals games feel weird? Like they're so different than a regular playoff game.

Absolutely. No, they are. I mean, and it was crazy because you told us, you like, "All right guys, it's the Finals now. All of this is gonna be different. The practices are different. You got media there." everything's gonna 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 2 games like, whoa, like totally different vibe.

Yeah.

And I thought that was very interesting. And then you see 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 1, we took we took advantage of it for the first half, really the first 3 quarters. And then it's like they found their footing, they got a little more comfortable, guys started hitting shots and the game got away from us. Obviously we end up finishing it, but you saw a little bit of that same thing.

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 tells you, okay, you're not allowed to practice in your practice facility, you know?

Yeah.

So you practice at the arena and like 500 media members are gonna come in for the last 5 minutes or the first 5 minutes of practice, or no, actually like first 20 minutes.

Yes.

So you have to put on like a fake practice in the finals where it's like, all right guys, do 3-man weave, or you know, it's 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, biggest games 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 6 hoops, 6 empty hoops. And the, in the main arena, there's only two hoops.

Two hoops.

So you can't, you can't do the same routine. It is, to me it's nuts, but it's all part of the media obligations that both teams have.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Now, Coach, this has been great. As you know, I could sit and talk basketball with you all night.

Yeah.

But I, I want to let you enjoy your Sunday. But before we get outta 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. I know what he's meant to me in my career. And man, 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 not that like I've gone through something that somebody else caused. It's self-inflicted wounds that I've had over the course of your tenure here, us being together. And we were speaking about it and he was like, "Man, I forgot all of that shit. You've done a lot of shit." I trust me, not for one second do I go home and not think 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's shit." And I was like, 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's shit too. So like, but 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. And I just wanted to give you an opportunity. 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.

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 9 years. You know, he hired me, he was here before I was. I don't know what it's gonna be like without him. There's already like a really hollow feeling just knowing he's not gonna be in the building every day. There's an incredible friendship there, incredible sense of gratitude that I have for Bob for everything that we've shared 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 just a huge part of everything. There's so much more that goes into being a general manager than just, you know, making draft picks and signing free agents. You're literally managing everybody in the organization from day to day. And Bob's the master. He has an incredible way of making people feel good about themselves and yet making people feel accountable at the same time.

Absolutely.

And wanting people, you know, making people want to do their best, not for him, but for the group and for yourself. You know, he's constantly challenging all of us to, uh, 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.

Oh, absolutely. And last one before we get out of here, uh, you and I both, um, 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 can be tough at times. And I think, you know, we all know Joe can be tough at times because he has that same thing that me and you have. He just hate to lose.

Yeah.

And losing for him, it drives him up a wall. Joe, like myself, wears his emotions on his sleeves. But at the end of it, you can always turn back and say, "I know that guy wanna win as bad or more than we wanna win." 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.

Yeah, I mean, you know, when I was a player, the Warriors were kind of a laughingstock, to be honest with you. And so when Joe bought the team, the mentality shifted. Mentality went to, hey, this is, this is going to be a winning situation. And, um, and everything that he's done has been with that thought in mind. 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, um, and I know that's never going to change. So, uh, the collaboration that we've had, we've all had, has been amazing. And, and, uh, obviously we want to keep it going. So hopefully we We can do that. And, you know, we're lucky to have been part of all this for sure. No doubt about it.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Coach, I can't thank you enough. The first, and rightfully so, like the first guest of Champs Only. Like for those of you out there listening, Champs Only, we coming on here, we 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. We gotta have champs. And we just had one of the greatest champs ever in NBA history. 9-time champ, Coach Steve Kerr. I can't thank you enough, Coach, for coming on the show.

Thank you. Appreciate you, Dray. That was fun.

What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward.