In the recent media availability before the third game of the NBA Finals, Steve Kerr was asked how he made the Warriors into a really good defensive team, since they held the Cleveland Cavaliers to just 91 points in the first game. Kerr had one answer for that: Mark Jackson.
Mark Jackson was the head coach of the Warriors from 2011-2014. He was originally the one who helped bring the Warriors back into relevancy, winning over 50 games for the first time since the early 90’s.
Steve Kerr’s response to the questions was, “I didn’t. Mark Jackson did, honestly. Mark came in and made a focus of being a tough defensive-minded team.” Kerr then went on to say that the Golden State Warriors were the fourth-best ranked defense in the NBA the year before he replaced Jackson as head coach.
Kerr also credited Andrew Bogut for the Warriors defense saying, “The trade for Andrew Bogut, to me, changed the identity of the team.”
Even though the Cavaliers scored 113 points in Game 2, that is still about four points less than they averaged in their 13 games in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this season against the Indiana Pacers, the Toronto Raptors, and the Boston Celtics.
With the Warriors taking a 2-0 lead on Sunday night, the Cavaliers will have to find a way to produce points against Steve Kerr’s team to try and keep their hopes of winning back-to-back championships alive.
