Steve Kerr is a class act.
During NBA Finals media availability ahead of Game 3 on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors head honcho credited his predecessor, Mark Jackson, with turning this squad into a defensive juggernaut. Here’s what he said, via RealGM:
“I didn’t. I didn’t. Mark Jackson did,” said Kerr when asked the question at Tuesday’s press conference. “Honestly. When I was in TV, I was doing Warriors games for years, every year they were one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Mark came in and made a focus of being a tough defensive-minded team. The trade for Andrew Bogut to me changed the identity of the team.”
The Warriors jumped from 14th in defensive rating in 12-13 to fourth in 13-14, which was Jackson’s final season with the franchise.
Jackson absolutely deserves some recognition for his defensive work with the Warriors, but he, like Kerr, was also blessed with the perfect personnel. Unlike Kerr, he really didn’t make the most out of it.
Harrison Barnes wasn’t routinely defending power forwards under Mark Jackson. The Warriors weren’t using Draymond Green to body up against centers, either. This isn’t to say Kerr is responsible for unleashing Green; the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner is one David Lee injury away from not becoming a prominent part of the rotation to start 2014-15. But Kerr had the gall to roll with him, and to experiment in a way on defense Jackson didn’t.
That’s not a shot against Jackson. His defensive imprint is real. Plenty of it’s still there. And it was no doubt him that helped establish a consistent commitment to defensive execution—again, no small feat when you’re guiding so many offensive-minded talents.
But now, three years into Kerr’s tenure, with Kevin Durant playing the best defense of his life, it’s also fair to credit Kerr and, let’s face it, Green for the work they’ve done, post-Jackson.
