The NBA world has been pounding down on Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors for their slow adjustments to the season. In a wonderful response, Kerr has welcomed the criticism and acknowledged the need for change.
Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors have been far from perfect this season – but Kerr is welcoming all of the criticism.
The bulk of complaints have been about Kerr’s reluctance to push for more pick-and-roll action. It felt like a waste of talent that Stephen Curry, one of the league’s best creators out of the screen-and-roll, was hardly ever running the play.
In response to this, Kerr has slowly been ramping up Curry’s touches in the pick-and-roll. Kerr had this to say on the trend:
"“I definitely want to run more pick-and-roll, and we are doing more of it,” Kerr said. “We don’t exactly have the perfect blend of players to run a million pick-and-rolls, to be frank.”Via NBC Sports"
Kerr is right, on both counts. The Warriors have been running more pick-and-roll lately and the team has responded well. Even so, Kerr is also correct in saying he doesn’t have the perfect blend of players to spam pick-and-rolls every play. Finding a balance is where success will lay for the Warriors.
Still, it’s important to push this style of play onto players like James Wiseman who need all the reps they can get. Sure, he may not be perfect just yet but it will help him, in the long run, to get this experience while the stakes are lower.
It’s also good for Jordan Poole’s development. The young guard has a knack for creating off the dribble and screen-and-rolls are a great way to make use of that talent.
The Warriors’ recent struggles aren’t proof that Kerr was a bad coach all along. But, it’s fair to say he might not be in the upper echelon of coaches like we once thought. As Kerr says himself, the truth is somewhere in between.
"“It’s just the gig. When we were doing great, I was an offensive genius. Now, we’re struggling and I’m behind the times. So it’s all part of it. The truth is always somewhere in between”"
One of the best skills in life is to be able to accept criticism. Kerr has heard the latest complaints and made proper adjustments – we truly can’t as for much more than that.