It was the kind of moment that showed why the Warriors can’t be discounted.
Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and Draymond Green have been together in the trenches for 14 seasons, learning each other’s proclivities during battles that have won them four championships over eight seasons, making them the league’s modern day dynasty.
That was never more clear than when Kerr lost control in Monday’s 103-102 loss to the Clippers. In reality, he knew exactly what he was doing.
It might not have looked that way when Kerr started screaming while wildly gesticulating after he thought the referees blew two calls, including disallowing a shot made by Curry with 8:44 left that appeared to be a continuation after a foul, followed less than a minute later by officials failing to call John Collins for goaltending.
Kerr unloaded on the referees. He ran down the sideline. His assistant coach had to restrain him. He was given two technicals and ejected.
It looked bad.
Snoop Dogg, who was serving as a guest analyst for NBC, chimed in, saying, “The Arizona Wildcat done came out of him.” After the game, a reporter even asked Curry if he wished his coach had been able to keep his cool at that moment.
But the opposite was true.
Kerr’s histrionics not only sparked the Warriors to nearly erase a 13-point fourth quarter deficit, but it also prevented Curry or Green from having to throw a fit themselves.
“To be honest, I was going to do that until I saw him,” said Curry, who picked up his fifth foul after Collins’ block led to a Clippers fast break. “…I love that fired up Steve, for sure. Somebody had to do it tonight.”
The symbiosis in that moment between a coach and his stars may seem like a small thing. But it’s hard to count out a team with this level of knowing and continuity.
After Monday’s loss, there was even a sense of optimism in the locker room. Green, Curry and Jimmy Butler all said they felt as though the tide was starting to turn for the Warriors (19-18), who have won six of their last nine games and are on the verge of an eight-game homestand heading into Wednesday’s showdown with Milwaukee.
“I think we’re starting to turn a corner,” Green said.
Added Curry: “The vibe is good.”
Green perfectly illustrated that point, showing the team’s unique camaraderie when he was asked if he had ever seen Kerr as pissed off as he was Monday.
“Yeah, when he was ready to kill me the other day in the huddle,” Green said, referencing a recent dust-up he had with his coach Dec. 22, which led to them exchanging snarky comments and Green walking back to the locker room during a game.
Just a few weeks after that tense moment, Green was able to joke about the incident.
That’s the magic of this team.
Every so often, Green and Kerr have an explosion. But they also know how to let things go after having spent more time together over the last decade and a half than they have with their own families.
Green had Kerr’s back Monday, saying without hesitation that he had “the right reaction.”
Ultimately, things didn’t go the Warriors’ way against the Clippers. Curry made two 3s in the final two minutes to cut the Clippers’ lead to one, but he fouled out with 43 seconds left. Butler then missed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer.
Despite the tough loss, which included losing a coach and a star player, it felt as though the Warriors were still the Warriors.
Kerr knew what to do when things started to go awry.
Curry showed Curry magic with the game on the line. And Green repeatedly sacrificed his body, suffering a rib contusion after diving for a loose ball in the second quarter, as well as later rolling his ankle and falling onto his left wrist.
“Steve getting thrown out and Dray getting knocked down, hurt, and then getting back up because he knows that we need him, it’s stuff like that that you know everybody is two feet in,” Butler said.
This much is for sure: Curry and Green loved seeing Kerr go berserk and the meaning of that moment extended beyond what the naked eye could perceive.
But the big question is how did the recently-acquired Butler feel about seeing his coach lose it?
Was the team’s third star on board?
“I like confrontation when mother f—— start yelling,” he said. “So, that’s definitely good.”
