Kerr + Melton postgame transcripts from Warriors-Nets
00:00 Hey Steve, the second unit came in and stabilized things at the end of that first quarter. What was that? Was it just like fresher legs or just like the back to back?
00:14 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME GSW-BKN: Yeah, with the back-to-back, we knew we were gonna play a lot of people, which we did. I think we had 12 guys play 10 minutes or more and we were gonna play a lot of zone, which we did early in the game. And they scored almost every time, so we abandoned that, but we were doing everything we could to try to protect our starters’ legs after the overtime game last night. This is also the second game of a five-in-seven stretch. Yeah, it was great that group came in and really got the game right. And from there it was really fun to watch everybody contribute.
00:53 Steve, these MVP chants in opposing arenas, you’ve seen it so much, but does it ever get old?
00:59 Never gets old coaching Steph Curry, I can tell you that. He’s an amazing player, even better person and team leader. And he captivates people all over the world for a reason. It’s the beauty of his play and his movement and the fluidity of it all, but also just the person he is. I think I’ve never met a fan who didn’t like Steph. Maybe in Cleveland during the Finals he got a couple bad remarks.
01:48 And what about all these crazy shots that he’s hitting after the whistle? Yeah, he had four of them tonight and they’re all sort of questionable, whether they’re gonna be counted or not. The first three did not. The last one did count. And those are tricky ones for the ref, but he’s magical.
02:01 I think you held them to 6-of-19 shooting in the fourth quarter. What’d you like about the way you closed tonight? Yeah, they got off to such a hot start, kind of picked apart our zone. They made a couple of late threes in the — late shot clock threes early and once we switched to our man-to-man, we had pretty good attention on Cam Thomas and Porter, Jr. Even though both guys had it going a little bit, I thought, in the fourth quarter our, attention to Porter, Jr., in particular was really good.
02:24 How crucial was Jimmy’s getting to the free throw line in terms of controlling pace tonight?
02:27 Yeah, it was a big deal. I love when Jimmy’s out there with four reserve players. There’s a different vibe. He just takes over the game. Sometimes when he is out there with Steph, he defers, which is understandable, but he’s at his best when he’s attacking, getting to the line like he did tonight.
02:48 Another, I think, 23, 24 minutes for De’Anthony tonight, finishes down the stretch. What are you seeing with him and are you more comfortable now going above that 20-minute mark?
02:56 Yeah, 24 is now the new limit. And I talked to him yesterday in Toronto. He said his body’s feeling really good, so it’s a good sign and hopefully we’ll get to a point this season where he’s able to play back-to-backs, but for now we’re being cautious.
03:14 Hello, Coach. How are you? Describe the Trayce performance tonight.
03:17 I’m sorry?
03:18 Trayce.
03:18 Sorry?
03:18 Trayce.
03:19 Trayce.
03:19 Yeah.
03:20 Trayce was fantastic, yeah, really did a great job. I didn’t get him out there last night and it didn’t feel right because he’s been playing so well, but the way Toronto was guarding Steph, we just felt like we needed to stay with our shooting bigs with Al and Quinten. So tonight was a great matchup for him. He did a hell of a job, helped turn the game in the second quarter.
03:47 I know you guys started the second half small. Was it just — what did you see there in terms of going away from QP?
03:53 Just their athleticism. I just wanted to be a little more mobile and get the ball moving a little bit more. They had a wing guarding Quinten. Claxton was guarding Draymond, anyway, so QP was basically playing the wing spot and I just wanted to get a little more speed, a little more ball movement.
04:17 Hey Steve, if you could just take us through the goodbye to DeMarco there at the end. I saw you all gave him the game ball. What was that like for you and the coaching staff?
04:28 Yeah, we love Chris. We’re gonna miss him. He’s been here 14 years, longer than I’ve been here. He’s sopping wet in the locker room right now. The players just doused him with water. He gave a brief speech thanking everybody and then the players all just bombarded him with water, so it was a good sendoff. We gave him the game ball and we’re gonna miss him. And it’s bizarre, before the game, some of us went down to his new office right down the hall. And what a weird night, to have this be his final night in the arena that he’s gonna be coaching in, but it felt fitting. He needs to get to work in his new job and I think it was a good compromise to have him finish out, basically until this point. And, yeah, he’s gonna do great. He’s a great coach. We’re gonna miss him.
05:25 Hi, Coach. I saw that seven out of eight players from the bench scored tonight with multiple points, so I wanted to ask you, how important you think this thing is for the rest of the season, especially at this point of the season?
05:41 Yeah, I think it’s one of the strengths of our roster, is the depth. I feel comfortable putting anybody out there and we showed that tonight and we got a lot of really good contributions. I thought Will Richard was fantastic. He and Melt helped close the game with some great defensive plays and Gui always brings great energy. You see the plus-minuses from the bench. They’re all sky high. Great work from the bench tonight.
06:11 Hey Steve, I know you’ve seen Michael Porter, Jr. a lot over the years in the West, but now that you finally got to see him up close and personal in this situation, what are your thoughts on the player he’s rounded into here with Brooklyn?
06:21 Yeah, he looks great. Obviously, he’s the focal point now here, whereas in Denver, he played off Jokic and he was fantastic. Now he’s taking on more responsibility and more shot creation and he’s a tough guy to guard at that size, with the way he moves and can put the ball on the floor and rise up and shoot over the top. He’s tough to handle.
06:45 Is there a pathway for JK to get back in the rotation?
06:48 There is. It’s tough because he’s not really a short-minute player. I played a bunch of guys eight, 10 minutes. JK’s a guy who needs — he needs rhythm. He’s not like a Gui who’s gonna come in or Pat and just fly around and play with great energy for four minutes and come out. He needs some rhythm. He always has to stay ready and there’s a pathway there, but right now it’s not there. But things change quickly in the NBA. Thank you.
—
07:18 Defensively, you guys hold them to 6-of-19 in the fourth quarter. What was working on that end for you guys?
07:23 DE’ANTHONY MELTON: Activity. I think we locked in on the game plan and we understood what they had going on through the last three quarters, so we just locked in and we just said it’s time to slow down the run they making and everything like that.
07:36 I know you didn’t play yesterday in Toronto, but after the way the team lost, how important does this one feel to close a game the way that you guys closed?
07:43 Like you said, it was important because it’s stuff we gotta work on going forward and it’s not necessarily for the time being now, but it’s later in the season. We don’t want to get into a situation down the road where we gotta — trying to fight for certain positions and try to get to the playoffs and stuff.
08:08 (Inaudible question)
08:16 Yeah, my body’s feeling well. It’s just about stacking days and strengthening when I’m still not feeling the best. My body’s been holding up and I think that’s the most important thing, just taking it day by day.
08:29 Jimmy gets to the free throw line (inaudible) in terms of controlling pace for you guys?
08:35 We love it. We got a little bit of an older team. That stoppage of play, it definitely helps us and it definitely helps us get our defenses set, especially with young teams that like to run up and down.
08:51 (Inaudible) MVP chants in the opposing arena?
08:54 You say — Say that again?
08:57 Yeah.
08:58 Oh, MVPs chants? We love it. We love it. I think he’s proven night in and night out, he does so much for our team. He does so much for the organization that we gotta respect everything he’s doing, especially at the age he’s doing it at. So we just gotta do our best to help him out and contribute in the ways we can.
09:20 (Inaudible) to 27 edge in bench scoring. When you — how good does that feel to know that your second unit wins like that?
09:26 It feels amazing. Like I said, every time I come on here, we have a deep team and I trust everybody that goes on that floor. Now just putting the ball in the basket, is important just to give these other guys some relief. Hopefully this is a big confidence boost for everybody out there.
09:49 Chris DeMarco leaves tonight. I’m just curious, what has he imparted to you and what do you think the New York Liberty and the WNBA will get with him, now in that league?
10:02 CD, that’s my dog. I love having conversations with him. We have a lot of defensive conversations just about matchups and coverages and all that stuff. It’s gonna be sad to see him leave, especially last year I didn’t get the full year with him, so now I get another half a year with him. But just his approach to the game is important. He always approaches the game, so mindful and so willingness to change things up, too. I think it’s gonna be really good for the Liberty in terms of his mindset and the W’s going to be — hopefully improves it, too.
🫶💙💛