Steve Kerr was public enemy number one in Boston during the Olympics, and the multi-titled coach expects it to stay that way. The issue stemmed from Kerr's benching of Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum and his curious decision to award JT's "lesser" teammates more minutes.
In an interview with NBA.com's Steve Aschburner, the 58-year-old braces for a frosty reception when the Warriors visit New England on November 6.
"I think they're going to be all over me. That's fine," Kerr laughed when asked what he expected out of the Boston crowd on the said date.
'They handled themselves professionally'
Despite the uproar caused by Kerr's decision, the nine-time champion claimed all 12 Team USA players knew what was coming. Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton were already prepared for what lay ahead, especially in crucial games where Kerr had to tighten his rotation.
"Those guys were all great. Jayson handled things so well. Then obviously it became a media subject, but he couldn't have handled it better. Tyrese, same thing. Every game was different. And we talked about that from the first night – 12 superstars and probably only nine can play consistent minutes," explained the Warriors bench tactician. "They handled themselves really professionally and pulled for each other. I couldn't be prouder of them all."
In all fairness to Hali, he legitimately looked happy just to be there. In Tatum's part, however, it's a bitter pill to swallow. The guy just won a championship as the No. 1 option on the team, and now Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were ahead of him in the depth chart. Dozens of personalities reacted negatively to Jayson's benching, from JT's mom taking a shot at Kerr to Carmelo Anthony's candid take .
Looking Forward
As controversial as the Paris Olympics were for the former Chicago Bull, Kerr has bigger fish to fry. ESPN predicts the Warriors will be in the play-in group, crumpled with the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Rockets. Analyst Zach Lowe thinks it would take a "home run/lightning strike" for the Warriors to be in the contender conversation.
Klay Thompson is now a Dallas Maverick, and Golden State's attempts to land a big-name free agent to pair with Steph Curry have yet to come to fruition. Moreover, "Chef" is getting long in the tooth, and Draymond Green's weaknesses are more apparent than ever.
Nevertheless, for the Warriors' second-year standout, Brandon Podziemski, it should light a fire under the team.
"We don't love to hear that, but we love to hear that in the fact that we're going to do something that no one expects us to do," Podziemski said via NBC Sports Bay Area. "They don't think that we're the Warriors that we were before, and for us, I think it's just the best feeling when you don't have anything to lose out there, and you just go out and prove people wrong."
"I think there's a bunch of guys with that mentality that thrive off proving people wrong, and I know Steph (Curry) is one of those guys. So just to be alongside him in the backcourt and in combination with all of our other guys, we're just excited to prove people wrong," added Podz.
The Wisconsin native has the right mindset looking forward, but it's easier said than done. It takes an army to win a war, but with such a slim margin for error, they'll need more than just effort to stay in the hunt.
Related: "There's got to be some kind of bias that he's got against the Celtics" - Bob Cousy calls out Kerr for his treatment of Tatum
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