Mike Brown Replacing Steve Kerr is the Warriors Biggest Potential Postseason Hurdle
By Jason McIntyre
Steve Kerr’s back is busted, and the fact that he’s talking about leaking spinal fluid during the playoffs … things are bad. Let’s take the worst case scenario situation: Kevin Durant is hurt and Steve Kerr is out. As such, the Warriors could be rolling into the conference finals with Mike Brown against Gregg Popovich or the NBA Coach of the Year in Mike D'Antoni, followed by LeBron’s Cavs in the Finals.
[ASIDE: Ty Lue has done some nice things already in the postseason, but it’s truly impossible to grade his coaching since he has the 2nd best player in NBA history on his side.]
How terrified would you be as a Warriors fan with Mike Brown calling the shots? The answer should be VERY.
Reminder: Steve Kerr took a 51-win Warriors team that lost in the first round, and in a stroke of pure genius, redefined them as a 3-point shooting juggernaut and also thrust Draymond Green from reserve to starter (with some “luck” as David Lee got injured), and three years later, some might argue that Green is the most indispensable player on the Warriors dynasty because he does so much.
For instance – what’s going to happen when Green has one of his sideline explosions? Steve Kerr always seemed to manage Green and his fiery temper … how will Mike Brown do?
Mike Brown? He is a former Popovich assistant! He led the Cavs to back-to-back 60-win seasons! Also, he didn’t make the finals in either of those 60-win seasons (with LeBron!), then went to the Lakers and with Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, couldn’t make the Princeton offense work, and was fired very early in his second season.
Amazingly, Brown then went back to Cleveland, couldn’t do anything in one season with a young team led by Kyrie Irving, and was fired. Two years later, the Warriors picked him up.
This is devastating news for Warriors fans. Close game, close series against the Spurs. Or the Rockets. Whether it’s Who has the coaching advantage?
NBA coaches can be difficult to quantify because it’s a star-driven league, and you can’t win in the playoffs without a star. But let’s not underestimate the coaching value – whether it’s managing egos, handling rotations, drawing up plays in timeouts … undeniably, the Warriors are going to miss Kerr immensely.