kokolaunch's Blog

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors were embarrassed in Indiana late in the season, suffering a 20-point defeat that resulted in coach Steve Kerr calling their effort "pathetic" and questioning their desire to win that night. Some of the veterans took exception. When Kerr got wind of it, he apologized personally to the players and then publicly through the media before their next game. But an apology wasn't the cure for their woes. Five days later, the Utah Jazz hammered the Warriors by 40 in Golden State's season finale -- the biggest loss in Kerr's coaching tenure -- and players were visibly upset with their performance. The defending champs were entering postseason play on a 7-10 skid, and Kevin Durant was taking the bulk of the blame for not stepping up with Stephen Curry out of commission with a knee injury. "I've got to play better to help my team," Durant told ESPN at the time. "This is obviously not the way we want to finish this, but we have to move past this and focus on what's ahead. We don't have Steph right now, so we have to go out there and get it done until he gets back." When Curry was out with a sprained ankle in March, Durant explained some of the team's struggles by saying that "Steph is the system here." The point Durant intended to make was that the free-flowing offensive system implemented by Kerr is tailored to Curry. Essentially, it's a V10 engine and Curry is the motor oil. So in his absence, it's a challenge for the team to run the same system. Steph Curry has been sidelined with a sprained left knee since March 23. John Glaser/USA TODAY Sports It's similar to why the Cleveland Cavaliers struggle when LeBron James is sidelined. So much is run through James that when he's off the floor, it puts players in uncomfortable roles when attempting to execute the same system. With Curry in the lineup this season, the Warriors went 41-10 while averaging 120.4 points per 100 possessions, which would be the best offensive rating over the past 20 seasons. With him off the floor, however, the Warriors were only 17-14 in the regular season and had an offensive efficiency that was right around the league average. So before facing off with the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round, Kerr made some modifications. One of the more noticeable adjustments was allowing Durant to initiate the offense. "I wouldn't use the word 'restructured' [offense]; I would say 'refine' is a better word because we're not doing anything that we haven't done all year," Kerr said. "It's more that we're focusing on certain things, certain sets. Obviously, Kevin has the ball in his hands more. Andre [Iguodala] and Shaun [Livingston] are handling the ball more than usual, but we're still doing the same things in terms of ball movement and spacing and pace, trying to make good decisions and then getting the ball to Klay [Thompson] and KD as often as we can."