Steph, Draymond x Coach Kerr React To Warriors/Pelicans | March 28, 2023

How much did you feel like that Draymond situation in the second quarter just kind of lit you guys up? Draymond willed us to victory tonight. I mean, just his intensity, his frustration early with the way we were playing, mad at the world, yelling at everybody, their bench, our bench, me. And, frankly, we all deserved it, you know? That first half was as poor a half as we've played all year, and we weren't engaged. And that's what makes Draymond special. It's not just the amazing basketball IQ and defense and playmaking, but it's just his sheer will. And he was the key tonight. When he's going at you, what are you thinking in that moment? I mean, are you liking what he's doing? I'm liking it. I'm liking it because I've seen this movie before. So, you know, we need his fire, you know? We need his fire. You know this, you've been watching us for a long time. We do some crazy stuff out there, you know? We get sideways, and we get too casual with the ball. And without Draymond's fire, his energy, his competitiveness, this thing doesn't tie together. But he ties the skill together. We have so much skill with our perimeter players, Steph and Clay, what they do, JP. But it has to be ignited through competitiveness and energy and, ultimately, execution, because those things often go together. And you saw the execution in the second half was totally different. Was Draymond talking about energy? Do you think the energy was lacking in the first half yourself? Body language. I mean, he was mad at me because I took him out. Was that for fouls, or was that for... Well, he had the three fouls, and so I took him out. I was worried because of his extreme energy that he had at that point. Is that a good way to phrase it? I thought maybe that would lead to his fourth. And so I took him out, and then they immediately went on, like, an 8-0 run, and I put him back in. So he was mad about coming out. He was mad earlier about our body language in the huddle. You know, he is who he is. He is the ultimate competitor and the ultimate winner. And, you know, like I said, he willed us. And beyond that energy step, what changed in the third quarter? What turned that second half? I thought Dante helped us get off to a good start. He had that put-back dunk. He had a couple of big energy plays. And then offensively, we just did a much better job of executing offensively. I thought we were trying to force the pick-and-roll too much in the first half. That's probably my fault. And then second half, we got more to our, kind of, our off-ball execution stuff, our flow stuff that we've been, you know, good at for years. And then the guys really started to execute. Steve, you described Draymond's competitiveness. How would you describe Steph when he gets sort of uber-locked in? I mean, it seemed like, you know, we all know his skill. But there's games like this where he takes his focus to another level. How would you describe sort of what he... Is there something in his eyes, something he says? When do you sort of see that? Yeah, he doesn't say anything, but he's every bit the competitor that Draymond is. It's just, it comes out in a different manner. Steph's a killer. You know, he wants to win desperately. And, you know, but for him, it comes out in his confidence, his shot-making, you know, getting the crowd into it. And then, you know, his defense, I thought was great tonight. Just the energy off the ball coming in and rebounding. He had eight boards tonight, three steals. So you just see Steph's overall game really come into play. And then he just takes over like he did offensively during that stretch. And it's pretty amazing to watch. You know, these guys, you know, they still got it. You know, they're champions for a reason. And it's harder now than it was before because of the decade-long run and the energy that it takes. But at their core, you know, these guys are champions and it's gonna come out. Draymond said after the Sixers game that you guys want the sixth seed or better, but that the play-in is dangerous. When you're down 17 at halftime, how dangerous did things feel before you could complete this comeback? Yeah, I mean, we're not thinking about that at halftime. We're just thinking about how we're gonna win the game. But, you know, we understand every game is crucial now. And, you know, we lost a heartbreaker the other night and we knew we had to bounce back. I thought maybe we were trying a little bit too hard early on and got a little out of sorts. But these games take forever. 48 minutes is a long time and there's so many possessions that there's always time for us to get back into a game, especially with our firepower. Steve, along those lines, you were talking about Dante's role has changed, but coming out of the break, he has a big stretch there for you and has that put-back dunk over Ingram. That was an important stretch, I imagine, and to see him do that. Big stretch to start the third. I think we started out 8-0 and they took the time out and Dante had several big plays in there. I thought he was great tonight. I loved his energy and, you know, that team has been hot. They're hard to guard with Ingram and CJ and, you know, they've got shooters on the perimeter. You have a lot of court to cover out there and Dante, he just plays so hard and I thought he was great tonight. And Kaminga, too, his poise down the stretch on both ends. Kaminga, I mean, his defense from the beginning was huge for us. You know, we started him to match him up on Ingram and then, you know, his offense has gotten better and better just, you know, playing behind the play. He had that big dunk. He had, you know, a couple free throws mid-fourth that were important after making a really nice move to the hoop, so JK was excellent. Klay set a new career high tonight in three-pointers. I know you've talked about how impressive he's obviously been this season. How important do you think that is for him? Obviously, with everything he's gone through, but then he didn't even play the majority of back-to-backs this season and he still found a way to get 277 and counting three-pointers. Yeah, I mean, I think Klay takes a lot of pride in everything that he does and if you asked him, I would say he's probably proud of that given how good he was, you know, before the injuries and then to be out for a couple of years and return from two major, major injuries to do what he's done this year. It's taken a lot of work, so he should be very proud. Steve, what'd you think of the end of the third quarter, that last minute when JP hits a three and then GP strips him, dunk, you guys get down four now going into the third, or into the fourth, how big was that momentum heading into the fourth quarter? Yeah, yeah, big stretch. You know, we made some pushes earlier in the third and then they kept bouncing back and knocking down a three or getting a bucket, but closing to within four at the end of the quarter I thought was really important. Steve, what do you think changed defensively from first to second half, specifically on the perimeter? They made nine threes in the first half, I think only three the rest of the game. Was it an adjustment from you guys or what did you kind of see as far as being able to guard the three-point line against them? Well, we always talk about the game being connected, so what changed was our offense got better, which in turn helped our defense. When you're scoring, they're not playing in transition, they're playing in the half court and you can get your defense set up. And we scored 74 in the second half, so more often than not, they were taking the ball out of the net and we could play five on five. First half they had 20 fast break points and some of those were threes because we were turning it over or having bad positions. You mentioned Kaminga, a matchup with Ingram. Was the plan eventually always to get to the box in one and how did that seem to certainly work for you guys? And when you have GP2, is it easier for you to do stuff like that because you can always throw them out there, whether or not, whatever the other combination is, in a box in one or anything you want to do defensively? Yeah, I mean, we always go into each game with adjustments that we see that we can make based on personnel. So we went in thinking we might do a low box in one and Gary's the perfect guy to have in that role, guarding the one guy just because he can deny everywhere and he's got all that speed and athleticism. So it's great to have Gary back. You know, he gives us a real weapon defensively and it wasn't his best night. You know, his first three minutes, he turned it over and he fouled, I think it was Ingram, you know, before the end of the quarter at 60 feet. I think Gary was just too excited out there but he settled down and gave us much better minutes in the second. And how scary was it to have Draymond with five fouls and have him be the guy guarding Ingram like it was the last four minutes or whatever it was. You had no worries about that? That's what you were gonna do there? You know, we just felt like we had a 10 point lead, I think, when we went back to that lineup and so it was really all about getting stops. And so that's our best defensive lineup with Draymond and Loon out there. And I trust Draymond, you know, he knows how to play with fouls and he did a great job. Steve, what was Draymond over here? What was Draymond like in the aftermath of Sunday's game? I mean, that was obviously a very costly and uncharacteristic mistake down the stretch he made on that pass. And did that feed sort of his intensity in coming into tonight, do you think? Well, I think with Draymond, he always moves forward and his nature, as you know, is to just be aggressive and to just play hard. So the game, this season is filled with ups and downs emotionally and, you know, games that you wish you could have back and you just can't look backwards and Draymond understands that and he just was looking forward to tonight. Thanks. Are you going into that second quarter sequence like, hey, I need to light our own team up, basically saying that to yourself or is it just because what happened with the Pelicans, that's just what happened? I knew we needed a boost. We were just kind of flat, no energy, kind of letting those guys get wherever they wanted to go. See, letting those guys get wherever they wanted to go. And so I just wanted to get us fired up and once the foul happened, they started talking. Like, it's a hard foul, but it's not dirty. He didn't jump or anything. I caught him on the floor, I hit him with a shoulder. So once they started talking, then they gave me an in to kind of get us fired up and I used that and we got going. Did CJ say anything particular? Yeah, he started talking about the foul, but I got a lot of respect for CJ. He's a guy who's been good in this league a long time, but, you know, that's my type of situation. I enjoy that, so I appreciate him. It's good. Drem, did you feel like this was, we always ask playoff intensity or playoff level, but did this feel like a playoff game to you? It did, and as it should. You know, there's two teams fighting for positioning. You know, could possibly be in a tiebreaker situation and, you know, you gotta take care of home court. We gave one away last game, me in particular, and, you know, we gotta do something to get that back. And so, can't lose two in a row at home, especially at this point in the year, understanding our circumstances. So, it definitely felt like a playoff game as it should have. You've been known to use tactics to get your team fired up. Is this an example of that? I mean, was this? It was perfect, right? Perfectly executed. How much of that was just the importance of the game and how much of it was the fact that you guys were most of the first half was just kind of out there and how much of it was carry over from the last game? We looked dead those first 18 minutes of the game. And then, you know, we had to find some energy somewhere and I knew, you know, it just wasn't gonna come. You know, especially losing the game like we lost the game last game, like that can carry over and I felt like it did. So, just knew we had to do something to do it fast before the game got out of control. And, you know, they hit a couple of shots there at the end of the half to increase their lead, but it didn't feel real. Like, yeah, it didn't feel real. You know, it felt like, oh, they hit a couple, we turned the ball over a couple of times, they hit a couple of shots in transition. But, right before that, CJ had a wide open layup and he missed it. And, B, I had one of his shots and he missed it. And so, you can just feel that, you know, they were out of sorts. Yet, we turned the ball over a couple of times, gave them stuff in transition and they boosted their lead. But, you know, coming into the half, I knew we had them right where we needed to have them. And, you know, we came out a minute 16 seconds in on an 8-0 run. And, you know, that was huge and it turned the game for us. Draymond. Over here, sorry. Draymond, you picked up another tech tonight. Do you think the league will rescind it? And if they don't, are you- What's your thoughts on that? Do you think it should get rescinded? Do I think so? Yeah. Yes, but- I agree. But, if it doesn't, are you concerned at all about picking up another and facing a suspension before the season ends? No, I've been suspended once. And so, it is what it is. I gotta play with the same intensity that I play with each- Hold on, baby. I have to play with the same intensity that I try to play with each and every time I step on the court and can't worry about that. Hold on, ----. Okay. And for me, you know, if I'm gonna change my intensity level, then why be out there? You know, why? I may as well sit out the game if I'm gonna go out there timid and worry about getting another tech. But, like I said, I expect that one to get rescinded. I mean, I'm not sure. Like, should I let him kiss me? That's how close he got to my face. Or, just kind of put my arms out to protect my space. So, I do expect it to get rescinded. You were saying how- Not done yet. Almost, okay? I see you. You were saying how you perfectly executed getting your teammates fired up and stuff. What are you saying to them in those instances? What buttons are you pressing and how do you kind of go about navigating? Just really making sure. Just trying to get the energy level up. It's not necessarily that you're saying one particular thing, but at the point that I'm gonna put myself out there like that, then you hope guys will back me up. And if not, then our season's over anyway. So, that's kind of where I was. It's like, I'm going all out here and need guys to rise to the occasion. And everybody did. Everybody who stepped on that floor rose to the occasion. And that's what you'd hope for in that situation. And I gotta give a lot of credit to my teammates. They backed me up as good as anyone has ever backed me up before. Dream on, Steve. You go ahead. Steve Kerr says he trusts you to do, whether it's playing with fouls or yelling at the team and yelling at the other bench and yelling at him. And that it was well-deserved and needed tonight. I mean, is that your, you've been with Steve for so long. Is that just happening over years of knowing each other and respect? You want me to talk? Okay, you want me to talk now, okay. I think so. You know, me and Steve and obviously Steph, Clay, Loon, Jordan, now JK, like, we've been through wars together. Especially the guys that's been here for a long time, man. That trust is there. Like, he trusts me to toe that line and do what I do and bring what I bring to the floor. And, you know, I trust him to make the right call. When he subbed me out, after all of that happened with my third foul, JK said, I wasn't going to come get you because I thought you was just going to send me back, which I was. And then I looked at Steve and he's like, no, come out. And so, you know, I trusted him to go out and he put me back in. And when your coach has trust like you and that, it's like, if you're a shooter, you know, and you can't buy a bucket, but your coach has confidence in you and tell you to keep shooting, that's huge. And that's my version of that. You know, where it seems as if everything is going wrong and yet, you know, he's totally allowing me to be me. He's trusting me with three fouls. He's trusting me with four fouls with a minute and 30 seconds left in the third quarter. And, you know, when he shows that type of trust, I can't break that and like, go pick up a dumb foul. Like, you gotta make sure that that trust stays there. And I thought it was huge for us tonight and a huge part of the reason we won this game. Draymond, how important was Bob Meyer's voice on the bench? I think it was after that fifth foul and kind of what was his message to keep you locked in on? Oh, it was huge. He came down and he was like, listen, all right, you proved your point and you may have been right, but if you stay that way, guys are gonna follow you. If you turn it around right now and get back in the huddle, guys will follow that. And it was huge. I got back in the huddle. I challenged our guys and we went out and boosted the lead even more. So I think, you know, that's when you see like, y'all don't always get to see Bob's worth, you know, other than like putting a team together. But he's so important to everything that we do. Like, I can't imagine. And I know, I watch, I know this league. Like, GMs don't keep a pulse of the team like Bob keeps a pulse of this team. And maybe two other GMs in the league right there would come down to the bench and say something. And so, and then that's also someone who I have the utmost respect for. You know, if he, if Bob comes and tells me something, that's Bible to me. You know, I'm gonna listen to that. But that's a relationship that has been built over the course of the last 11 years. And that is a relationship that'll be, continue to grow over the next 40 years. So, you know, for him to come down in that moment and say something to me, you gotta honor that. And it was huge. And then to have Gary Payton a second, Gary Payton, actually, after the game, I saw you guys having a really good talk after the game right there. To have another defensive all-time great that you can always lean on to, what's that relationship like as well? It's huge. Number one, you make sure you tell him there's something better than him at Domino's. So let's never get that twisted. But no, as you know, man, GP's one of the OGs. You know, he's one of the guys you got the ultimate respect for. And to have him around is always huge. And you know, when you can get words of advice from a Hall of Famer, from a champion, a guy who's done it year in and year out, knows what it takes, you gotta take that advice. And so I'm lucky to have a guy like that in my corner. And knowing that, you know, he's willing to share that game. It's his free game. And not oftentimes are you able to get free games from Hall of Famers. So I cherish that. Draymond, when you're locked in and intense, it's pretty obvious, like it was tonight. When Steph's extra locked in, do you see something in his eyes, his body language? Because he, clearly tonight, took it to another level. It's definitely in his eyes. It's his body language. It's the demeanor he carries. And you know, he's not gonna be loud about it. But you know how to follow it. And you know, he, when I turned it up a notch, he turned it up another two notches, and I fell back in line and we followed him. And I thought that was huge. You know, that's the intensity, the defense, that's my department I lead in. You know, the, obviously on the offensive side, we know what Steph does, but the composure side of things, that's his area that he leads in. And so once he brought it back, once he dialed it all in, we all hopped in line and followed him, and he was locked in. And you know, no one was stopping him. He made plays on both sides of the ball and, you know, helped carry us to a win. A little on that theme, Draymond. Did you see Steph after, kind of had to get pulled out of that scrum? He was yelling. I'm not quite sure who he was yelling at. Is it about as amped up as you seeing him in a moment like that? Absolutely, but if there's one guy I know always gonna ride with me, it's Steph. And so, you know, I've never been in a situation like that before, and he has not rode for me. And same goes with Clay. You know, guys who, and there's other guys on this team with Loon. You know, they're gonna ride with me in those situations. And you know, when that gives you the ultimate comfort to be exactly who you are, knowing that guys wanna ride, and Dante rode, Jordan rode, JK rode, everybody who checked in the game, they rode. But I thought it was huge. And Steph, and that does something for the morale. Because if he's not in that, then everybody else may not join in. You know, but with him getting in that scrum and being in the fire with me, everyone else, you just have to fall in line. Thank you. On your first interview, take it out of the closet. You ready? You take it? Steph, when he does it as he did tonight, how can Draymond's antics just completely shift the energy for you guys and change the game? I mean, it just brings out the competitive fire that we have demonstrated for the decade now, and just understanding what it takes to will yourself out of a tough situation. I think I heard him say, not a lot of people can talk when they're down 20, but it's built off of a belief and an understanding of who we are at our best, and that kind of just competitive will that we've had. We've been in a lot of different situations over the course of these years, and for whatever reason, no matter how bad we've played, and how inconsistent we've been, we can pull off a night like tonight. So, he's well aware of that, and has a feel for when it was a little sleepy in the first half, he got us going. You kind of got in the middle of that, too, yelling at somebody, and you had to get pulled out of there. How emotional were you getting, and was that part of you feeling that things needed to get fired up a little bit? No, it's just, obviously, I'm not a big talker in the sense of getting in there, but you show your presence, and get engaged on just the flow of the game at that point, and understanding what the task at hand was on the back end of all the trash talking and the fire. So, I like to be in there and just feel that energy. Basketball is obviously a game of run stuff, but what'd you think about the emotion tonight within those runs? Our crowd gave us a big boost, and we gave them something to cheer about. Start that third quarter, and when you win a half, what is it, 74 to 46, like, things have to kind of go your way with making shots, but we finally connected the game, because in the first half, our defense was solid in the half court, but we gave up, I think, 20 fast break points. And then when we took care of the ball, we continued to play good defense, and we were just unstoppable. So, it gave our crowd and our home energy something to get engaged with, and ran away with it. We all know how big this game was going into it. Were you a little surprised that maybe the energy level wasn't there to start? What did you think was going on there in the first half? I think our energy, like, from self-diagnosing, I think our energy was okay. It was deflating plays back, you know, over and over and over again that kind of just took you out of, you know, the driver's seat a little bit. And to your point, we know we needed this one. And when you start to, you know, just give them extra possessions and be in a situation where you're losing control of the game, it's hard to really, you know, understand what's going on in real time. Like, you asked Draymond, you know, lit a fire, and then we were able to make the necessary adjustments and let our play speak for itself. So, I think I said after the game, we have to play better if we're going to, you know, beat anybody in the playoffs. But not a lot of teams can do what we did based on the confidence we have in ourselves to come back like we did tonight. Steph, I know that the team has much bigger goals that you're focused on in trying to finish out the season, but are you aware of how close you are to having a 50-40-90 season? Is that something on your radar and that you care about at all? It's always on my radar. Always. So, yeah. Okay. Steph, Draymond talked about Bob Myers kind of talking, giving him, you know, kind of a keep it in line, keep your head in the game during that fifth foul. Talked about how when Bob talks, it's like Bible to him and how important it is to have a GM like that. Does that kind of go to show what a difference maker Bob Myers is right there? It's just another example of it, yeah, because whether it's in front of 19,000 on the bench or whether it's a phone call or a text or a conversation or whatever it is, there's a lot of trust in his perspective, and you don't see him come down that often, so it's not like something that's frequent. It's just timely, and, again, that's something that Draymond responds to because he trusts, you know, his point of view, and I don't know whatever he said in that moment, but it does go a long way, whether it's in the locker room, practice, off the court, outside the arena, whatever it is, we respond to what he says. And then even with playing with Klay for this many years, could you have predicted that he would set a new career high in three-pointers this season with everything he's been through? I didn't even know he did it. What did he do? He set a new career high in three-pointers tonight with his fourth one, so new season for me, my bad. No, I got you. Wording matters, yeah, yeah. No, I'm just saying. Yeah, my bad, my bad, my bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he's having a hell of a year based on what he's come back from, how he started the year, and, you know, really stepped up in a big way, pushing himself to new heights. It's amazing, and just the fact that he's, you know, playing 30-plus minutes a night and is available and is putting himself in position to, you know, be able to play at that level physically every night, that's a testament in and of itself, and, you know, the results come, obviously, you know, with him breaking or setting a new record for himself, so that's amazing. Steph, Dalton took my question, but I'm going to follow up. Draymond and Steve both talked about trust. Steve trusts Draymond to yell at everybody, even him, when it's appropriate, and just the trust that goes with all of you over the years you've been together. I mean, is that a large part of why you can pull out a game like this and Draymond can play on the edge and be himself? For sure. I mean, we don't ever ask anybody to be anything other than themselves. There's a responsibility and accountability to that individually that we all understand, but there's a collective trust that's been built with reps and reps and years and experiences and losses and wins and all that, so it's part of our DNA, who we are, and, like, if you're looking at this game, we obviously know we have to play better. We keep saying that, and we know we can, but the fact that we can come back from whatever it was, 20-point lead and win by 11 and just play with that fire, it's there, and until it's proven otherwise, you know, we rely on that, and hopefully it'll give us a chance to do something special this year. For you personally, following up on that, how, I guess, I don't know if nice is the right word, but to have a teammate like that where even if you are maybe not fully locked in or just not in it that first half, to have someone kind of even check you and just say, hey, like, let's get it going because he said that you are a guy who will kind of follow him. You'll always have his back. You'll always kind of follow up on him. We do it in different ways, so to your point or question, like, he's fiery, and he, you know, wears his emotions on his sleeves. I'm not quite like that, but, you know, he can look at me and know that he has the space and freedom to talk his talk like he did tonight, and that he knows that, you know, his guys will back him up. I'm sure he wouldn't go out on an island like that if he didn't have that confidence. He's a smart guy, so, yeah. You know, there are times where it's the opposite, where I got to keep him in check and bring him back in when it's turning in the wrong direction in the sense of staying focused on just winning. So, you know, nothing's choreographed. Nothing's predictable. It's just trying to feel out where we all are, and at the end of the day, we all just want to win. Steph, as you said, Jermon kind of wears his emotion on his sleeve. It's obvious for everyone when he's amped up for a big game like this. How do you how does it feel different for you when it's a game like this, your team's in a predicament like this, coming off a loss, you know, a game you guys probably felt like you gave away Sunday, and then you're in that hole? How do you sort of take your focus or your energy to a different level when the consequences are bigger? Well, a lot of it's just in the work and the preparation physically and mentally to bring your best self so that you can exert enough energy to, you know, do whatever it takes to win. So, it's nothing glamorous. It's just, you know, the simple stuff of making sure I get some sleep, making sure I'm locked in on your game day prep and stuff, bringing good energy to our pregame meetings and, you know, just locked in a sense of focus on what I'm trying to do. And then the rest of it is the deserved confidence that I have when I'm out there on the floor because you feel like you can do anything that you want to based on that preparation. So, it's, you know, that's the consistent thing that I rely on, you know, whether it's game, whatever, in the regular season or, you know, something with a little bit more of the stakes, you know, on the table for, you know, a game like tonight. But just hope. Did this feel urgent? Did this feel, I mean, a must-win but, like, really important? For sure. Minnesota did, too. We just didn't get it done. So, they added a little bit more pressure tonight, and that's going to add some more on Friday because we know we got to protect our home court in a game that we're supposed to win. So, feel like we've been in a playoff vibe just, you know, for probably a couple weeks now. And, I mean, the only difference is you're playing a different team every night, but it's the same kind of adrenaline rush that we're getting, and every game does matter. Steph, you've been through so many situations over the year. Does this particular situation where you are in the standings feel like anything else in the run? Maybe when you guys were in a younger part of it, does this particular something you can draw back on? Not really. It's just all we wanted is a shot at, you know, well, one, to stay out the playing, but a shot at, you know, a playoff series because we feel like we, you know, it brings the best out of us. And the conversation around each game is it is what it is, but it's, you know, again, just that playoff-type feeling and expectation, you know, where every game is just an emotional kind of just wave that you're on. Positively and negatively, you just got to find your way through it. So I don't know if there's anything to compare it to, but it's mad fun right now, to be honest, you know, knowing that we're trying to get to the finish line with an opportunity to be the Warriors in the playoffs. Steve said, you know, that he, you guys haven't ruled Andrew out for the season at this point, but there's obviously only a couple weeks left before the playoffs. Are you in contact with Andrew right now? And just what's kind of your pulse on the situation and the idea of him maybe... Same as it's always been. We'd love to have him and, you know, hope that that does happen because we want to be whole, and I'm sure he wants to be a part of this. But when he walks through the door, it'll be when it's the right time for him. That's kind of the expectation at this point, so nothing's really changed from my standpoint on that. Are you talking to him much? Not that consistently, no. More space. Thank you. Appreciate that.