Golden State Warriors: Who Deserves Credit For The Team’s Historic Season?
The Golden State Warriors are having one of the most memorable seasons in NBA history and their humble leader, Stephen Curry aka, the “Baby Face Assassin,” just won MVP honors.
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However, the debate on who is responsible for their recent success has never been a hotter topic.
Steve Kerr entered this season as an unknown commodity. He won five rings as a player and spent a few years in the Phoenix Suns front office, but he had no coaching experience.
The concern in “DubNation” centered around his lack of coaching experience.
Kerr was not only a rookie coach. He was replacing Mark Jackson, who had led the Warriors to consecutive playoff appearances.
The replacement of Jackson with Kerr left many in DubNation scratching their heads. The prevailing sentiment was that Jackson got railroaded and Kerr was handed one of the premier jobs in the NBA.
The Warriors had a talented and deep roster. Their backcourt of Curry and Klay Thompson was widely considered to be amongst the best — if not the best — in the league.
A young dynamic nucleus and an ownership group dedicated to winning, made the Warriors head coaching position one of the premier jobs in the NBA.
Jackson’s physical presence is no longer on the Warriors sideline but the impression he left on the Bay Area is still evident.
There is a certain percentage of NBA insiders and Warrior fans, who refuse to give Steve Kerr the lion’s share of the credit for the teams outstanding season.
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In their minds, Kerr was handed the keys to a powerful Lamborghini and his only job was not to drive it off the road. There is also the perception that his job was to stay out the way and ride the wave of momentum created under the Jackson regime.
Kerr has always acknowledged that Jackson laid down the foundation for the Warriors current success, and that his job was to build on it.
In an interview with Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com, Kerr spoke of his goals:
"“My goal is to continue this upward trend that the team’s already been on, to build on that and to be competitive year-in and year-out”."
Kerr has enjoyed one of the most successful rookie coaching campaigns in NBA history. His 67 regular season wins set an NBA record for first year coaches.
Kerr has helped transform the Warriors from a team on the rise to one that has arrived.
With the help of a veteran coaching staff, he has transformed Golden State into the most balanced team in the NBA.
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The Warriors improved defensively under Mark Jackson, but his lack of offensive creativity had critics claiming he wasn’t getting the most out of his talented roster.
Kerrs’ motion offense has allowed Golden States’ overwhelming offensive talent to shine.
Draymond Green has transformed into the ideal stretch four. He entered the NBA as an undersized power forward, with limited offensive ability. However, the Warriors’ new offensive scheme has allowed Green to expand his offensive game.
Under Jackson, he would take the occasional three point shot but he never was a legitimate offensive threat.
Green though, isn’t the only Warrior benefiting from Kerr’s player friendly offense.
Thompson was selected to his first All-Star game this season. His improvement handling the ball has allowed him to take advantage of the great floor spacing that is a staple of the Warriors’ offensive execution.
But no one has benefited from the coaching change more than Curry.
Not only has Curry’s offensive game continued to amaze but his new defensive dedication has helped propel him to the league MVP.
Jackson routinely assigned Thompson to guard the opposing team’s top point guard, while assigning Curry to a lesser offensive threat.
Under Kerr, Curry is routinely going head to head with the NBA’s elite point guards on a consistent basis.
The ability of Curry to defend his position has allowed Thompson to defend the best offensive wing player, and to fully take advantage of his own defensive prowess.
There is no denying that the Warriors vastly improved under Mark Jackson and he deserves some credit for the team’s recent success.
But to suggest that Steve Kerr doesn’t deserve praise for doing a brilliant job is ridiculous. Kerr has allowed his players’ individual talents to be on display unlike any previous season.
There are many people who have contributed to the growth of the Warriors, but Steve Kerr has definitely established himself as a main contributor.