Warriors & Mavs practices: Otto, Klay, Luka, Kidd, GP2 sighting, JTA dancing + more

[notes, quotes and Poole/Boban video]

Om the day before the start of the 2022 Western Conference Finals, the Golden State Warriors had practice downstairs at Oracle Performance Center while Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, along with assistant coach Chris DeMarco took the main floor for some shots. Then the Dallas Mavericks showed up and had their practice. Steve Kerr, Kevon Looney and Thompson took the mic for the Warriors and Dorian Finney-Smith, Luka Doncic and Jason Kidd for the Mavs. Below are all the behind-the-scenes clips and notes & quotes…

DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, tweeted by beatwriters. I used to transcribe every interview but it became too tedious and not worth the investment for the small amount of views we got on the soundbites on YouTube. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) asap.

STEVE

• Otto remains probable for G1. Steve Kerr said Porter “looked good, felt good.” (Dalton Johnson)

• On how the Warriors are feeling: “We’re feeling confident. Our guys have been in this position many times, our core guys… Our guys have guts. They’re not afraid of anything and that’s where our experience helps us.” (95.7 The Game)

• On what Andre Iguodala has brought to Warriors despite being unable to play: “He's like an assistant coach — only, one (that) the players can rely on with real-time advice. He's actually guarded these players we'll face.” (John Dickinson, me)

• On any experience advantage the Warriors have going in over the Mavs, while referencing late game situations like Game 6 vs. Memphis: “Our guys have guts. They’re not afraid of anything and that’s where our experience helps us.” (Dickinson)

• Kerr brought up March 3 game in Dallas a game to take most out of in terms of prep for how Mavs will defend Warriors. Dallas blitzed Steph Curry repeatedly to where he didn't shot in 4Q: “Strategically there were some things in that game I think will repeat in this series. We’re anticipating they’ll blitz Steph and try to get the ball out of his hands.” (Dickinson, Callie Caplan)

• Kerr showed some love to the Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd: “Jason is really unique because he's one of the few superstars, Hall of Famers, who has really gone on to become a great coach.” (Mark Haynes)

• Kerr on cutting down turnovers after W's had 19.2/game vs Grizzlies: “No message. I'm not even bringing them up. It's been the No. 1 key on our board for about 72 straight games so there's no point. I think if I don't say anything then we're going to take care of the ball.” (Janie McCauley)

• On what he remembers about playing against Kidd: “I didn’t guard him, thankfully…He had an overwhelming speed and force he played with. Brilliant passer. He made the game easier for his teammates.” (Dorothy Gentry)

• Otto Porter shimmied at one point shooting around. (Kate Rooney)

LOON

• Kevon Looney says it's been good to have a few quality days off in between series, but now the Warriors are “ready to play.” (Kate Rooney)

• Looney says guarding Mavs star Luka Doncic will be a big challenge for the Warriors. Looney was surprised by how strong Doncic is: “We just gotta make things difficult for him.” (Kylen Mills)

• On Luka Doncic-James Harden comparisons after guarding Harden in past series: “Luka’s able to post up pretty much anybody when he gets his shoulder on you…The biggest difference is the size. Luka’s really strong. That kind of surprised me this year.” (Callie Caplan)

KLAY

• Klay Thompson on what the keys are to guarding Luke Doncic: “Playing your hardest and trusting your teammates.” (Marc Spears)

DFS, LUKA & KIDD

• Dorian Finney-Smith: “Man, I ain’t never seen this many cameras…We’re here, so we might as well win it.” (Brad Townsend)

• Luka Doncic: “living my best life…just happy to be playing basketball.” (me, Townsend)

• More Luka: “The key to the Warriors’ team is Draymond.” (me via Townsend video)

• Jason Kidd: “Yeah, I remember facing Steve. He had Michael Jordan.” (Anthony Slater)

👍👍💛💙