Warriors seeing clear road to success only the start for playoff run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors can exhale. For a full day, maybe two, having dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. And then, on Sunday evening, they will step onto the court in Houston and try to win a first-round playoff series against the Rockets.
The same Rockets that 10 days ago blasted the Warriors off the Chase Center floor. That outshot them, outrebounded them, forced 20 turnovers, punished them in the paint, plastered them with 26 fast-break points and wrestled Stephen Curry into three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field.
Yet there is a serenity and confidence about the No. 7 seed Warriors. They believe they know the way to success against the second-seeded Rockets.
Much of that confidence comes from their collective faith in coach Steve Kerr and his staff. While the players are at ease Wednesday, the coaches will pore over video, craft a game plan and deliver it to them on Thursday.
One thing coaches and players know for certain: They must take care of the ball.
“We have to win the possession game against Houston for sure,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area Tuesday night after the play-in tournament win over Memphis. “And then they’re going to come after us with everything defensively. They’re going to play two bigs, with (Steven) Adams and (Alperen) Sengun.
“We like our chances. We’ve got counters for everything.”
This is why veterans like Draymond Green and Curry are bristling with kinetic energy. They’re like boxers freed from the arduous tedium of the gym – the regular season – and finally making their way to the place they want to be. The championship ring.
“I was just telling the guys the only thing I was thinking about earlier today was just I want the opportunity to go through that first film session that we go through, just our every series,” Green said. “It’s like no other. And I’ve been looking forward to that. It’s just a different level of preparation that you just … it’s impossible to get in the NBA. There’s just way too many games.
“But you get to the playoff series, and the level of preparation is so different. So, I’m looking forward to not tomorrow but the following day. He can have tomorrow. But that preparation, getting ready for a team that you know you got to see possibly seven times in a row, is so fun. It’s like no other.”
That 106-96 loss to Houston on April 6 was, the Warriors tell themselves, fool’s gold for the Rockets. As if a convincing win means nothing. Golden State’s veterans know regular-season results are irrelevant once the postseason begins.
It’s a completely different game, requiring a sharpened mentality and a profoundly advanced level of focus.
“The beauty of these (playoff) games is that every possession counts,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And you know what? If you try to coach like this all year, it’s hard to implement everything during an 82-game season. If you approach every 48-minute game trying to hammer home how important everything is, you’ll just exhaust the guys after the quarter of the season. They won’t have anything left.
“What we’re really trying to do is build habits during the season. Then, if the habits are good, come playoff time you can commit and focus for 48 straight minutes and play a game where every possession matters.”
This is a familiar script to Golden State veterans. Curry has participated in 147 postseason games, Green in 157 and Kevon Looney in 77. Jimmy Butler III had appeared in 119 games, but his first as a Warrior comes Sunday. Kerr has played in 128 postseason games, coached another 140 in his first 10 seasons with the Warriors.
The playoffs are, for these folks, their comfort zone. A psychological living room.
“It is just attention to detail,” Curry said late Tuesday night. “You just flip the book on Houston and their patterns. You want to truly understand, a ‘know them better than they know themselves’ kind of vibe. Just be as prepared as possible. It’s fun because you have everybody locked in.
“What we enjoy about playoff series is it’s just one opponent, and it’s a chess match from before the first game and in between every game, just trying to find the subtle changes or game plan or discipline that can help just win four games.”
The Warriors, players and coaches, seem to believe the key to winning this series lies in ball security because that inhibits Houston’s transition game, which was fueled by turnovers 10 days ago. The analytics show the Rockets’ offense is much tamer when playing against set defense.
Knowing how to contain an opponent is one thing. That’ll be in the game plan. It’s the execute that’s more difficult and will dictate the difference between success and failure.
No question, though, the Warriors have more postseason soldiers than the Rockets.
“This is what we do,” Kerr said at the postgame podium. “I mean, this is so fun. This is the best time of the year. You know, this is Year 11. My favorite – maybe my favorite – day of the season is (Wednesday). We come in as a staff, we look at Houston tape. We start to put together our game plan. The players are resting. We’ve got a couple of days before we’ll see the players again.
“We get to go to work and try to beat a great team in a seven-game series. There’s nothing better. So, I can’t wait.”
The players can wait, particularly super vets Curry, Butler and Green. Mostly to treat their aches and catch their breath before beginning what they hope will be a trek that takes them into June.
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Warriors seeing clear road to success only the start for playoff run
SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors can exhale. For a full day, maybe two, having dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. And then, on Sunday evening, they will step onto the court in Houston and try to win a first-round playoff series against the Rockets.
The same Rockets that 10 days ago blasted the Warriors off the Chase Center floor. That outshot them, outrebounded them, forced 20 turnovers, punished them in the paint, plastered them with 26 fast-break points and wrestled Stephen Curry into three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field.
Yet there is a serenity and confidence about the No. 7 seed Warriors. They believe they know the way to success against the second-seeded Rockets.
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Much of that confidence comes from their collective faith in coach Steve Kerr and his staff. While the players are at ease Wednesday, the coaches will pore over video, craft a game plan and deliver it to them on Thursday.
One thing coaches and players know for certain: They must take care of the ball.
“We have to win the possession game against Houston for sure,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area Tuesday night after the play-in tournament win over Memphis. “And then they’re going to come after us with everything defensively. They’re going to play two bigs, with (Steven) Adams and (Alperen) Sengun.
“We like our chances. We’ve got counters for everything.”
Golden State Warriors
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This is why veterans like Draymond Green and Curry are bristling with kinetic energy. They’re like boxers freed from the arduous tedium of the gym – the regular season – and finally making their way to the place they want to be. The championship ring.
“I was just telling the guys the only thing I was thinking about earlier today was just I want the opportunity to go through that first film session that we go through, just our every series,” Green said. “It’s like no other. And I’ve been looking forward to that. It’s just a different level of preparation that you just … it’s impossible to get in the NBA. There’s just way too many games.
“But you get to the playoff series, and the level of preparation is so different. So, I’m looking forward to not tomorrow but the following day. He can have tomorrow. But that preparation, getting ready for a team that you know you got to see possibly seven times in a row, is so fun. It’s like no other.”
That 106-96 loss to Houston on April 6 was, the Warriors tell themselves, fool’s gold for the Rockets. As if a convincing win means nothing. Golden State’s veterans know regular-season results are irrelevant once the postseason begins.
It’s a completely different game, requiring a sharpened mentality and a profoundly advanced level of focus.
“The beauty of these (playoff) games is that every possession counts,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And you know what? If you try to coach like this all year, it’s hard to implement everything during an 82-game season. If you approach every 48-minute game trying to hammer home how important everything is, you’ll just exhaust the guys after the quarter of the season. They won’t have anything left.
“What we’re really trying to do is build habits during the season. Then, if the habits are good, come playoff time you can commit and focus for 48 straight minutes and play a game where every possession matters.”
This is a familiar script to Golden State veterans. Curry has participated in 147 postseason games, Green in 157 and Kevon Looney in 77. Jimmy Butler III had appeared in 119 games, but his first as a Warrior comes Sunday. Kerr has played in 128 postseason games, coached another 140 in his first 10 seasons with the Warriors.
The playoffs are, for these folks, their comfort zone. A psychological living room.
“It is just attention to detail,” Curry said late Tuesday night. “You just flip the book on Houston and their patterns. You want to truly understand, a ‘know them better than they know themselves’ kind of vibe. Just be as prepared as possible. It’s fun because you have everybody locked in.
“What we enjoy about playoff series is it’s just one opponent, and it’s a chess match from before the first game and in between every game, just trying to find the subtle changes or game plan or discipline that can help just win four games.”
The Warriors, players and coaches, seem to believe the key to winning this series lies in ball security because that inhibits Houston’s transition game, which was fueled by turnovers 10 days ago. The analytics show the Rockets’ offense is much tamer when playing against set defense.
Knowing how to contain an opponent is one thing. That’ll be in the game plan. It’s the execute that’s more difficult and will dictate the difference between success and failure.
No question, though, the Warriors have more postseason soldiers than the Rockets.
“This is what we do,” Kerr said at the postgame podium. “I mean, this is so fun. This is the best time of the year. You know, this is Year 11. My favorite – maybe my favorite – day of the season is (Wednesday). We come in as a staff, we look at Houston tape. We start to put together our game plan. The players are resting. We’ve got a couple of days before we’ll see the players again.
“We get to go to work and try to beat a great team in a seven-game series. There’s nothing better. So, I can’t wait.”
The players can wait, particularly super vets Curry, Butler and Green. Mostly to treat their aches and catch their breath before beginning what they hope will be a trek that takes them into June.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast
