'I Like Where We Are' | Draymond Green x Coach Kerr React To Warriors GM2 vs Kings | April 17, 2023

Steve, what concerns you the most going forward? Was it the 22 turnovers tonight or the inability to really get into your offense against Sacramento's pressure? Yeah, they did a great job defensively of pressuring us. And we didn't handle it well enough to win a playoff game on the road. And with that said, it's a tie game with four minutes left, or whatever it was. So we know we have to play better. But we will play better. These guys are champions. You saw what they did in a really difficult situation with a lot of foul trouble and ejection. The way our guys fought, they showed what they're made of. So now it's a matter of going home and licking our wounds a little bit. And we get a little rest with a couple of days in between games. And we go home and take care of our home court. What was your take on the Draymond ejection? And then, I guess, what came after that? I didn't see the play live. And then I didn't see the replay. I asked Zach Zarba what happened. He told me. And I was busy with getting the team ready. One of the coaches told me he might get ejected. And so I was trying to prepare for what was next. What happened down the stretch? I mean, you mentioned it was a tie game late. Obviously, you don't have Draymond. But just what did you see? Yeah, I thought we were competing. We hit some big shots. Gary hits the corner, three to tie it. I think Clay hit a big one on the wing. But they played better than we did down the stretch. I thought they were more physical tonight. It was an incredibly physical game. Really, really a lot of physicality, not much movement, not much freedom of movement out there. So they were the aggressors. And I thought they benefited from being the aggressors. We've talked a lot about how the Kings and you guys both like to play quick. Just what have you made of the pace of this series so far? Well, tonight was obviously slower than game one. As I said, the game got much more physical early. I thought there could have been 10 fouls called in the first three minutes, five on each team. And so that's how you have to adapt in the playoffs. They established they weren't going to call much. And we played a really good first quarter. We held them to 17 points. But we couldn't sustain it. And the game got away from us there in the second quarter. And then they kind of controlled things from there. But as I said, I'm really proud of the effort to fight back and give ourselves a chance to win. We just didn't have enough. And historically, I mean, you guys have always been a team that you try and speed up the series, right? Maybe other teams aren't as quick, but you really want to push the pace. Have you ever faced a team in your memory that can match you guys right there with just quickness? We've played so many teams over the years in the playoffs. And we've seen a lot of different styles. So I'm not going to go into my history book right now. I got other things on my mind. But the playoffs are filled with challenges. Every team you play is going to be a great team. Obviously, Sacramento has had a hell of a year for a reason. I thought they played great defense tonight. So this is just about giving them credit. Steve, you talked often all season about fouls, defending without fouling. How much of a factor has that been in the two games? And what can you do to turn that around? Well, like I said, the first half, there were hardly any fouls called. And second half, there were more called. And I think we had five in the first two minutes of the third quarter, which hurt us. But like I said, you have to adapt to the way the game is being called. And I thought we had a few too many reaches and holds and plays that we might have been able to avoid. But it was also an incredibly physical game, as I said. Steve, you didn't play Jordan or Dante in the fourth quarter. You didn't play Kaming in the entire second half. Was that production-based? Or was that something of a plan? You were going to basically go with Tyrone? No, it wasn't a plan. It was just reading the game and seeing what we needed. We had to have our best defensive lineups out there in the fourth quarter. That's why Gary and Wiggs played quite a bit the entire quarter. And we kept Steph and Clay out there for most of the quarter. I think Steph played the whole quarter. Because we had to have those guys to give us a shot. And so they got us there. They gave us a shot. Like I said, getting to that point, even with everything going on, I thought was really impressive. But just didn't have quite enough. You also went to Moody. Are you seeing this series shifting in a way where you have to go wing-heavy? I mean, a little bit like to answer your question. But is that why Moody was something? Yeah, I mean, everything is a balance. You're trying to find the best two-way lineups you can. So on offense, I felt like we needed a little more spacing. And on defense, they're a physical team. We need some physicality. We need some size out there. So I gave Moses a crack. I thought he did a really nice job while he was out there. Draymond, can you just walk us through what happened there? My leg got grabbed. Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I got to land my foot somewhere. And I'm not the most flexible person. So it's not stretching that far. So you didn't really see where you were stepping. You just kind of? I can only step so far. I'm pulling my leg away. So it is what it is. What was the explanation they gave? I know they gave him a technical. Then, obviously, you flipped into it. The explanation was I stumped too hard. How hard was that impact? Were you surprised that he was on the ground for that long? No, I wasn't surprised that he stayed down that long. You said two times you've been held with Sabonis, both times? No, it was Monk last game, right on the baseline under the rim. So either you're going to stop it. John Goba was looking at Monk hold my leg the last game. And he just let it go. And Zach clearly was watching my leg get held this game and let it go. So I guess ankle grabbing is OK. How would you describe your actions and the crowd's actions after that? You certainly egged them on. Did you feel you needed to respond to them? Or were you hearing anything that you needed to respond to there? No, I'm just having fun. It's a fun game, fun atmosphere to play in. So it's fun. Draymond, you guys have been down 3-1 a couple of times. You've been through just about everything. But you haven't been 0-2 in the series going home. That's exciting, right? I was going to ask you what you thought about it. A new challenge. After the game, I was actually thinking about that. Like, man, I think this is one we haven't seen yet. And we've conquered all the rest of them. So why not go conquer this one? Be a lot of fun. A lot of fun. It's good. Draymond, what have you, how would you look at the first two games of the series in terms of the way you guys have played and the way they have played? I mean, what are you seeing? I think we've played pretty, I mean, we've played OK. We haven't played awful, but we definitely haven't played well. And yet, you know, come down the last four or five minutes each game, and you got a chance to win the game. So all things considered, I like where we are. We just got to down the stretch, get stops, and convert on the offensive end. But give yourself a chance to win. That's all you can ask for. And we did that twice. So I like it. What have they done to make it so hard? Well, they've made shots. They put a lot of pressure on our defense. And they didn't particularly shoot the ball well all night, but they've made shots down the stretch. So got to give those guys some credit. But there's a lot of things we can clean up. Draymond, you guys had 22 turnovers tonight. A lot of them were unforced. How can you clean that up? You just got to accept the pressure and then go to your counters if the initial action isn't there. And I think a lot of times, and myself included, you're just trying to force it and getting a little sped up. So you just can't get sped up. We know what we're trying to get to. You got to be patient, handle the pressure. And then if you do handle it, when we handle the pressure, everything opens up. And so we just got to handle the pressure better initially. And I think that starts at the beginning of the game. And if I'm not mistaken, I've started two games in a row with a turnover. And so that sets the tone. I have to be better then. Lastly, kind of a big picture look at this. Do you get any sort of a Warriors 2014, 2015 vibe with these Kings in terms of they're trying to climb the mountain kind of thing? I mean, I think we can say that every year about another team. Last year's Memphis, this year's them. When you've had the success that we have had, you're always going to get those comparisons. But it's hard to do what we've done. So kind of relax a little bit on the comparisons. I said, I kind of relax. Not you have to relax. I said, I kind of relax on the comparisons. Draymond, putting the Sabonis incident aside, Steve mentioned this game has been very physical. How would you assess your team has been matching the physicality of the backs? I think at times, we've matched the physicality. At times, we've been the aggressor. And then there are too many times we haven't. And it's kind of figuring it out as well. Team gets physical, you get physical back. You get a foul called, you're trying to figure that out as well. So overall, done OK, but not to the level you need to be to win playoff games. Draymond, the fourth quarter was all the veterans, I guess, except for when Moody came in a little bit for Wiggins. No pull, no Dante even, Kaminga didn't play in the second half. Where do you see kind of those young guys? I mean, are you expecting more from them? Do you see something in them that you can get more from them? It's different. It's a different brand of basketball than a playoff. So we know all those guys are more than capable. We know what Jordan is capable of. We know what Dante is capable of. We know what JK is capable of. So just got to stay ready. Games take turns, and coaches have to make decisions based upon how they feel the game is going. And it happens every year, but you got to stay ready. And I know those guys will. Draymond, there's always been the feeling that things would be different once the playoffs start, but it seems like some of the issues you're dealing with are the same as from the regular season, turnovers, fouling on defense. Is it hard to break out of issues that have, you know? I mean, I think I told you all in the regular season, you just don't flip a switch. Your issues are your issues, and you have to work through them and figure them out. So, you know, we can give up 29 free throws. The number realistically probably should be a little closer to 20, but it's not. So just got to figure it out. How do you fix the fouls? We have to be better at the point of attack. That's guards who's guarding the ball. That's bigs who's in coverage. You have to be better at the point of attack. Once your defense is compromised, that's when you get fouls. Draymond, Steph didn't take a shot in the third quarter until about 3 and 1⁄2 minutes left, but obviously being very physical with him. As an initiator, how do you think you guys can best get him going earlier? I don't know. We have to figure that out. That's something that we need to go watch on the film, try to figure out how we can release the pressure some, what other guys can do behind the play when he does get off the ball. So we'll figure it out over the next couple of days, make our adjustments, and come ready to play in game three. After you get ejected, do you go to back and watch the game? How does the final six minutes go for you? Sometimes I watch, sometimes I don't. Lift some weights, get stronger. That's fine. I watch some of it. I didn't watch all of it. I watch here, watch there. I partly ask because this is two straight games. You mentioned you're close late, but they've closed. What do you think's going on down the stretch? Fox has made plays. You've got to give Fox a lot of credit, but that's who he is. He's up for a clutch of war for a reason. That's who he is. So I don't think it's been a scoring issue. I think we've scored down the stretch. We just haven't gotten stops. So I think it's a defensive issue. Great, thank you. We'll have a couple more minutes in here.