The Warriors have a Playoff series record of 21-2 under Steve Kerr
To win a playoff series in the NBA takes hours of dedication, planning, and hard work. Many coaches know that and try to prepare their players as much as possible come playoff time. But there is no amount of repetitions or regular season games that can simulate a playoff atmosphere. And there was no other atmosphere like Oracle Arena when the Warriors would go on runs in late May with aspirations to win it all. Chase Center is fairly new and is starting to build its own reputation now, but the Dubs’ dynasty started in that building. The first domino to fall before the run was the hiring of longtime NBA veteran Steve Kerr.
Since being named head coach of the Warriors in May of 2014, Steve Kerr has led the squad to six finals appearances in eight years. His playoff series record has ballooned to an impressive 21-2 with the only two losses coming in the 2016 and 2019 Finals respectively. Many critics point to a lack of coaching when it comes to the Warriors and Steve Kerr. The argument is made that you don’t even have to coach a great team like the Dubs have had in seasons past. “Oh, they have two of the best shooters ever, they have KD, they have a leader in Draymond,” so Kerr’s greatness as a coach is diminished.
When the opposite should be true. He deserves to be given his flowers before he retires because coaches like him rarely exist nowadays. Same goes for Mark Jackson, they both paved the way for modern day jump shooting teams to be successful. The greatest example of Kerr’s coaching ability is 2015, his first year as head coach. The Warriors went 67-15 in the regular season and 16-5 in the postseason to secure their first championship in forty-plus years. Say all you want about talent but having come off of a Western Conference loss the year prior and winning it all the next year just proves that Steve took what was built there and made it better. Helping to add his own flavor to plays and give them the “Popovich touch” as he was an assistant coach to Popovich for a few years for the Spurs.
Then this year after missing the playoffs the last two years due to injuries, the Warriors are back in the Finals once again. The core trio of Steph, Klay, and Draymond are back and competing at a high level but that is the Warriors bread and butter. The three have spent so much time together and with Steve Kerr that they have created a special bond on and off the court. They all know how to play with one another, and Kerr knows how to play them.
And much credit should be given to Kerr for the way he has handled the past few down years. He took the time to develop the young rookies and establish a few key role players along the way. Not to mention Wiggins’ increased play as of recently, which can be credited to how Kerr has played him and what he lets him do on the floor both offensively and defensively.
A team can be special and talented but without a good head coach the pieces can easily fall apart. Michael Jordan’s Bulls were historically great and three-peated twice but there were moments when Phil Jackson had to step in and help the team mentally. The same applies to Kerr, when he takes all of his experience playing on those Bulls teams, San Antonio teams, and floods that knowledge into the minds of players on Golden State.
Just think about their record again, 21-2. They have beaten 21 playoff teams in their dynasty run, many of which were purposely put together to try and stop them. When you have two of the best shooters ever on your team you might think that the job would be easy. But getting them open looks is the hard part when every night the defense changes based on how that coach thinks they should guard Steph, Klay, and the Warriors. So, when looking back at the Warriors' historic Finals runs remember to give Steve Kerr his flowers now because we might never see another coach like him.
(Photo credit: Ashley Landis/AP)