Steve Kerr Believes Warriors Were Capable Of Title Run Until Stephen Curry's Injury

[RealGM Wiretap]

Steve Kerr believes the Golden State Warriors were capable of going on a championship run in these playoffs had Stephen Curry not suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 1 of the second round. The Warriors were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 on Wednesday by a final score of 121-110.

"I don't even have to think what [if]," Kerr said. "I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance.

"Maybe we wouldn't have, but it doesn't matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time?"

The Warriors remained mostly competitive in the final four games of the series without Curry.

Draymond Green predicted the Warriors would win the title shortly after they traded for Jimmy Butler.

"I think I still have that belief, wholeheartedly," Green said Wednesday night. "That has not changed one bit. And you retool, you do whatever it is that you got to do to take that next step and give yourself a better chance."

"I love our guys," Kerr said. "This was a hell of a run for us considering where we were at the trade deadline. Jimmy changed our season, flipped everything for us, gave us a chance. We became one of the best teams in the league. And obviously, you get to the final eight in the NBA, you're one of the best teams.

"We had a shot, but things didn't go our way. Minnesota deserves the credit."

Via Ohm Youngmisuk/ESPN

[CaHgO]

L O L! Yeah, right, as much as the Lakers had a shot. Completely delusional organizations. We saw how play_OFF Jimmy got completely exposed, they had a ZERO chance of even making the WCF.

[NightWatch]

L O L! Yeah, right, as much as the Lakers had a shot. Completely delusional organizations. We saw how play_OFF Jimmy got completely exposed, they had a ZERO chance of even making the WCF.

So you’re one of these anti-Warriors?

[beefman]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

[TMac Culloch]

Warriors only really get consistency from their big 3. Between Pod, Hield, or Moody (not this playoffs) one will probably have a good game.

That's 4 guys. You can't win a chip with 4 guys

Kuminga is a larger conversation

[TheCage4]

Kerr is insufferable. It's rare to find anything of value that comes out of his mouth.

[hyberx]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

LOL what are you smoking? LeBron plays no defense and has the luxury of one of best big men in AD and now Luka. Austin Reaves is a consistent 20 PPG 3rd option too. Curry had nobody until Butler, then they went 23-7. No point guard has Curry's stat at age 36 while being the sole offensive generator for the team. Not Chris Paul, not John Stockton, not Steve Nash. Nobody, ever. If you bring in the SGs, MJ and Kobe are the only ones.

[beefymajesto]

I don't see it but I get why Kerr thinks so. I don't think the team was dynamic enough but curry does make big plays and everything for them does kind of orbit around him.

[Pickled Prunes]

Coaches and players have to be somewhat delusional to get as far as they do. Just making the NBA is beating the odds. Before tanking was an annual travesty, every preseason team thought they had a shot at the playoffs and over half of them thought they had at least a shot at a title. Winning starts with belief.

[beefman]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

LOL what are you smoking? LeBron plays no defense and has the luxury of one of best big men in AD and now Luka. Austin Reaves is a consistent 20 PPG 3rd option too. Curry had nobody until Butler, then they went 23-7. No point guard has Curry's stat at age 36 while being the sole offensive generator for the team. Not Chris Paul, not John Stockton, not Steve Nash. Nobody, ever. If you bring in the SGs, MJ and Kobe are the only ones.

AD is one of the best big men? HA! sorry i didn't realize curry was a defensive stalwart

[Twinkie defense]

This is true, especially given the stumbles of the powerhouse teams Cleveland, Boston, and OKC. The road to the Championship is wide open.

[Twinkie defense]

L O L! Yeah, right, as much as the Lakers had a shot.

Announcer: The Lakers, of course, had no shot.

[Alex_84]

Sure you did. Barely beat the inexperienced Rockets in 7 with their main star basically played in GSW favor, along with the complete absence of a shooter in their roster.

And even in that stadium, Rockets would take much more out of series with Minnesota.

[Twinkie defense]

Kerr is right. Since early February after the Jimmy Butler trade the Warriors had the 3rd best record in the League (23-8, .742), behind the Thunder and Celtics, and were top-five in net rating (including #1 in defensive rating). Plus they got this guy Stephen Curry. The seedings were very compacted in the West but the Warriors were more of a 2 or 3 seed-type team going into the playoffs. They absolutely had a path to the Finals, especially with Cleveland, Boston, and OKC stumbling.

IDK what team would even be "favored" to win it all at this point.

Injuries are a part of the game though, that's the way things go.

[Twinkie defense]

Sure you did. Barely beat the inexperienced Rockets in 7 with their main star basically played in GSW favor, along with the complete absence of a shooter in their roster.

And even in that stadium, Rockets would take much more out of series with Minnesota.

Rockets were a two seed, won 52 games, and had one of the top defenses in the League. It's not like they were an easy out - even though the Warriors were up 3-1 on them. And that one loss happened when Jimmy Butler and Podz were out.

[warriors1217]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

Is the article about Lebron better than Curry? Warriors beat the same Wolves during the regular season without Jimmy. That same logic tells you they are capable of beating the Wolves with the healthy Curry and it shows during the 1st game of the series. This shows you have no knowledge of the game but a hater.

[warriors1217]

L O L! Yeah, right, as much as the Lakers had a shot. Completely delusional organizations. We saw how play_OFF Jimmy got completely exposed, they had a ZERO chance of even making the WCF.

You clearly wasn't watching the game but just judging by hating. They won the first game with Curry only playing 1st quarter. They owned the Wolves during the regular season without Jimmy. Jimmy plays better with Steph on the court and that was proven since they acquired him. You really think that Warriors was not gonna win with a healthy Steph in there? Who was the focal point of opposite teams defense? Steph. Just get out of here with that hatred and no knowledge of the game.

[Pickled Prunes]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

LOL what are you smoking? LeBron plays no defense and has the luxury of one of best big men in AD and now Luka. Austin Reaves is a consistent 20 PPG 3rd option too. Curry had nobody until Butler, then they went 23-7. No point guard has Curry's stat at age 36 while being the sole offensive generator for the team. Not Chris Paul, not John Stockton, not Steve Nash. Nobody, ever. If you bring in the SGs, MJ and Kobe are the only ones.

I would argue that Steph is an undersized SG, so he should be in the SG conversation. At the very least he is a combo guard. The PG's you mentioned are pure pass-first PG's. But here are the PG's you mention in their 36th year with their Pts + Ast(x2):

Steph: 25 Pts + 6 Ast(x2) = 37
Nash: 15 Pts + 11 Ast(x2) = 37
CP3: 15 Pts + 11 Ast(x2) = 37
Stockton: 11 Pts + 8 Ast(x2) = 27 (To be fair, he only averaged 28 MPG. It was a lockout year and he played all 50 games. He played in all 82 for the next four years. In his 19 seasons the Jazz never finished under .500!)

All of those players were better than Kobe at 36. MJ probably would have been better, but that was the middle of his 2nd retirement.

[beefman]

curry is washed up. lebron was still putting up MVP numbers at his age

Is the article about Lebron better than Curry? Warriors beat the same Wolves during the regular season without Jimmy. That same logic tells you they are capable of beating the Wolves with the healthy Curry and it shows during the 1st game of the series. This shows you have no knowledge of the game but a hater.

sorry i didn't realize regular season game wins meant more than playoff ones. my mistake