Kerr humbly admits he needs to rediscover his A-game next season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – As the Warriors bounced through a season of wild swings and emotional challenges, criticism of Steve Kerr was louder than at any time in his decade as coach. And not just from the keyboard brigade firing shots on social media.
At least some of the complaints were justified. During an 83-game season that ended with the Warriors missing the playoffs for the third time in five years, there were too many instances where Kerr failed to reach his standard.
He knows. Despite his ongoing boycott of social media, he knows.
Moreover, he agrees – especially about the failures of the criminal offense. Although it is built around Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, there are moments when it descends into chaos. Or stagnates.
“We’re still going to do a lot of the things we’ve done; we cannot deviate from what has made us successful,” Kerr said Thursday. ‘But I have to learn better. I need to simplify some things. I might have to give our guys a little better template for how we’re going to accomplish this.
“If you connect the game and can make better decisions offensively, it translates to the defensive goal and you become a better team. So I have to do that better.”
Golden State’s offensive rating of 116.9 ranked ninth in the NBA and fifth in the Western Conference. The Warriors’ net rating (2.4) ranked 13th in the league and seventh in the West.
The Warriors posted the league’s highest offensive ratings in three of Kerr’s first five seasons as coach, finishing second and third in the other two seasons.
Over the past five seasons, the Warriors have not once finished in the top ten, let alone the top five. Their 16th-ranked offense in their 2022 championship season was offset by a second-ranked defense.
“The offense can help the defense,” Kerr said. “The game has always been connected. I think we’ve had a unique style here for a decade based primarily on the off-ball moves of Steph and Klay, and Draymond’s unique nature as a point center. We have unique players, so we played a unique style. Some of it was planned, some of it just turned into a way we did things, a way we played. We have been turnover sensitive for a long time, partly because we do a lot of freelancing.
“I feel like our team hasn’t been built to withstand some mistakes and setbacks over the last few years. But it’s also not built to support some of that freelancing. So I have to take it upon myself to help the players get into better positions so they can make better decisions, if that makes sense.”
There was some fair criticism of lineups, especially Kerr’s affinity for playing four guards. Fair criticism of rotations, some of which seemed poorly thought out and ineffective. Justified criticism of the distribution of the minutes.
There was also the matter of Green being subjected to multiple suspensions, which had a tangible effect on progress – but it was something all parties believe Kerr handled exceptionally well.
But considering Kerr received a two-year extension worth a reported $35 million in February — making him the highest-paid person whose title is limited to coaching — self-reflection is a natural reaction after missing the playoffs.
After trading Jordan Poole for 12-time All-Star Chris Paul last summer, first-year general manager Mike Dunleavy and CEO Joe Lacob figured the Warriors would need a month or two to develop timing and rhythm. They thought the second half of the season would be a runway to the playoffs.
Once there, Kerr would have four experienced veterans at his disposal. A team the coach could rely on. The Warriors were equipped to use their postseason experience against teams still wanting to learn what the playoffs were about.
That didn’t work out. The season ended Tuesday in Sacramento, where the Warriors were eliminated by the Kings in the play-in tournament.
“Disappointed with our year,” Dunleavy said Thursday. “Even though we finished with more wins than last year, I thought overall we fell way short of what we thought in terms of talent and experience, all those things that an ownership group, a front office, coaches, players, all signed off the roster to start the season. To be honest, we just got too far behind the 8-ball over the course of the season.”
The biggest problems were Golden State’s inability to effectively build home field advantage and its inability to beat opponents, which became especially difficult at Chase Center.
“I can tell you three or four games we should have won,” Kerr said. “And then I take the blame. We all take some of the blame for it. We can’t get too confused and say, ‘Oh my God, this is a disaster, we have to renew everything.’ But we also have to be honest. Why did we blow those matches? What stopped us from winning a lot of those close games?”
The number of games the Warriors lost after building a double-digit lead ended at 14, stretching from November through the penultimate game of the regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans. Seven of the last eight such games have been at Chase Center.
To put this in sharper contrast, after the calendar flipped to 2024, Golden State lost every home game in which there was a double-digit lead or a double-digit deficit.
“For me, it’s my own responsibility,” Kerr said, “that’s where I come back to simplifying the offense, teaching it better, and making sure I can put our players in a better position to make the decisions that are going on matter at the end of the matches. .”
The Warriors need Kerr to rediscover his A-Game next season. Competition has improved. The Warriors’ core is getting older. If he is better, they will be better.
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