The white hairs have overtaken the blonde ones atop Steve Kerr’s head in 2022. Six Finals trips in eight years might be responsible for some of those frosty tips.
The 56-year-old is about to embark on his 11th NBA Finals trip as a coach or a player and is still in his prime. While his championship core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green has a finite window to compete before retirement, there’s no reason to think Kerr can’t go on a Popovichian run by the Bay for years to come.
Kerr joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Tuesday to preview the upcoming matchup against the Boston Celtics, and how it feels to appear in an NBA Finals in four different decades.
“I had not thought about the decades,” Kerr said. “That’s a little scary. This is my 11th time, which is kind of insane.”
Kerr first appeared in the Finals with the Chicago Bulls as a sharpshooting role player on their three-peat teams from 1996-98. Then Kerr played for his mentor Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, winning trophies in 1999 and 2003. Once Kerr took over as coach, the Warriors ruled the second half of the 2010s with five straight NBA Finals trips and three titles from 2015-19. Now Kerr finds himself on the other side of the 2020s.
“All I think about is how lucky I’ve been to have been part of times that had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green," Kerr said. "I’ve lived this incredibly charmed basketball life. There’s no way around it. I don’t take it for granted.”
Looking at the Celtics, Kerr is wary of Boston’s defense, which edged out the Warriors for the best net rating in the league during the regular season (106.2). The Celtics have shaved that number down to 105.1 in the playoffs.
“They’re definitely the best defense we will face,” Kerr said. “The speed and athleticism and size at every position is what stands out. … They’re probably the best switching team in the league. They’re a a little bit like we were maybe three or four years ago when we just switched from Klay to Kevin (Durant) to Andre (Iguodala) to Shaun Livingston to Draymond. It’s just a very switchable lineup which makes them the best in the league.”
Namely, Kerr praised Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart for his ability to guard multiple positions. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard isn’t afraid to match up with the opposing frontcourt if he needs to. Grant Williams is also a stocky guard who loves to play defense, while Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown bring their big frames to the wing and Robert Williams and Al Horford can be erasers down low.
Offensively, Kerr has a different assignment than previous rounds. He was quick to label Tatum a “top five player” but noted how the offense doesn’t run through him like the Denver Nuggets did with Nikola Jokic, the Memphis Grizzlies with Ja Morant or the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic.
“The first three series that we had were more complex,” Kerr said. “Boston doesn’t mess around and run a million different plays. You kinda know what’s coming. They’re very efficient with what they do, very straightforward.”
