Want Warriors news in your inbox? Sign up for the free DubsDaily newsletter.
OAKLAND – The roaring laughter lasted for several seconds, and it grew louder with each passing moment.
Earlier this week, New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry joked he "wanted to outcoach" Warriors coach Steve Kerr beginning with Game 1 of the Warriors-Pelicans Western Conference semifinals on Saturday at Oracle Arena. Once the Warriors eliminated the San Antonio Spurs in five games on Tuesday, Kerr jokingly downplayed any challenges the Pelicans might present because "Alvin Gentry doesn't really know what he's doing."
Once those words were relayed back to him over the phone on Thursday, Gentry reacted as if he was at a stand-up comedy show instead of at the airport. Gentry chuckled at Kerr's joke.
"Hey, he could be right!" Gentry deadpanned in an interview with The Bay Area News Group.
Kerr would be the first to admit he is not right.
To subscribe to the Planet Dubs podcast, click here.
The Pelicans have the NBA's second-leading scorer (Anthony Davis), the league's top passer (Rajon Rondo) and two playmakers (Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic) that produced a third-ranked offense that Kerr said "really suits Alvin a lot." Kerr credited Gentry for coaching Phoenix to the 2010 Western Conference Finals when Kerr served as the Suns' General Manager. And after Gentry became his lead assistant during his first season with the Warriors (2014-15), Kerr said that "Alvin was critical for my growth as a head coach and our team's growth" en route to an NBA title.
"We each know that coaching is not going to decide the series. Players are going to decide it," Kerr said in an interview with The Bay Area News Group. "We're each going to come up with our game plan. But it's not exactly rocket science. He'll try to throw me for a loop. I'll try to throw him for a loop. Some things will work. Some things won't. But we can laugh and joke about how we're the masterminds behind the success of our teams."
Therefore, Kerr could not help himself.
As part of his postseason vow, Kerr declined to share strategy that includes divulging his starting center or his defensive gameplan to limit the Pelicans' frontcourt. Kerr remained just as secretive during the Warriors' 3-1 regular-season series against the Pelicans, jokingly saying he wanted to play mindgames with Gentry. So as he observed Stephen Curry complete an individual shooting workout following Thursday's practice, Kerr joked he can counter whatever coaching adjustment Gentry makes.
"I got your adjustment right here," Kerr said with a grin as he watched Curry. He is currently listed as questionable for Game 1, though he will be reevaluated on Friday after staying sidelined with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee since March 23.
"It's a real fun thing," Gentry said of his trash talk with Kerr. "We're going to play extremely hard. They're going to play extremely hard. But nothing's going to change in our relationship from a friendship standpoint. We're going to try everything we can to beat them. They're going to try everything they can to beat us."
Want real-time Warriors news texted to your phone? Sign up for Mark Medina's private text messaging service.
Endless bantering
Gentry and Kerr sounded much more boastful after the Warriors won the 2015 NBA championship. That is what happens when you feel drunk from champagne and euphoric from winning an NBA title. With NBA TV capturing both men celebrating in the locker room, Kerr and Gentry stared directly into the camera and immediately traded barbs. During the NBA playoffs, Gentry had already accepted to be New Orleans' head coach for the 2016-17 season.
"We're going to kick the Pelicans' ass next year!," Kerr yelled. Gentry then referenced Davis and said "we're going to be right back here!" Gentry then told Kerr, "we're going to take you guys out in the Western Conference Finals!" Kerr and Warriors general manager Bob Myers then playfully motioned for the security guards to kick Gentry out of the locker room.
"When you're celebrating a championship in the locker room with some of your best friends, there's an euphoria that means the words are going to come out of your mouth," Kerr said. "You don't even remember what they were and why you said them. But it was fun celebrating the title. We were giving him so much [grief]."
Once Gentry accepted becoming the Pelicans' next head coach as he finished his playoff duties with Golden State, the Warriors coaching staff had already teased Gentry. Kerr and his assistants often said, "you shouldn't even be here, you traitor!" Bill Walton, the Hall of Famer center and father of former Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, likened Gentry to Benedict Arnold, the general for the American Continental Army who infamously defected to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. On Thursday, Kerr perfectly imitated Bill Walton when he often said, "Why is Alvin even in the coach's meetings anymore?"
None of these exchanges should be surprising.
Consider one of the reasons Kerr hired Gentry extended beyond their previous relationship in Phoenix. Or because of Gentry's extensive resume as an assistant college coach (Baylor, Colorado, Kansa), an assistant NBA coach (San Antonio, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami, Detroit, New Orleans, Phoenix) or an NBA head coach (Miami, Detroit, Phoenix, Los Angeles Clippers). Kerr also found it important to hire Gentry because he has "a great sense of humor" and is "one of the most fun people to be around." Therefore, the constant ribbing defined the Warriors' 2014-15 season almost as much as their prolific offense.
And it started right away.
The night before training camp, Kerr played a video for his players that longtime NBA broadcaster Marv Albert narrated. While some of the video highlighted the importance of Kerr's "Strength in Numbers" campaign, it also offered a window into Kerr's sense of humor. Kerr edited various clips as a way to introduce his coaching staff. For Gentry's introduction, Kerr had compiled old photos of Gentry sporting an afro when he played basketball at Appalachian State (1973-77). Those images were superimposed to convey Gentry as a former member of the "Earth Wind and Fire" band.
During another film session before the first round of the NBA playoffs against New Orleans, the Warriors had compiled countless Davis highlights. Makes sense, right? There was only one problem.
"None of those were clips I had given them to look at," said Gentry, who had been assigned to scout New Orleans. " All of those guys got together and put these things in there. It was all Pelicans stuff, and none of my stuff was in there."
Gentry hardly felt offended or upset. Why? Pretty simple. As Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser said about Gentry, "he was part of the joke, the brunt of the joke and sometimes involved with them."
Gentry's showed off his greatest hit the night before the Warriors won a championship-clinching Game 6 in Cleveland. He had made bets all season that he could throw down a dunk. Very few believed him. When the Warriors practiced at a local athletic club in Cleveland, Gentry proved everyone wrong.
"He was pretty athletic, actually," Fraser said. "I have to give him credit. I thought he was going to kill himself."
Instead, Gentry soared to the rim and hung on it. Well, there is a caveat to this story.
"I cheated a little bit," Gentry said, laughing. "I used a wall."
How?
"The basket was bolted to the wall. So he went up and vaulted himself off the wall with one foot and dunked it," Kerr said, smiling. "It brought the house down. That was a good light moment before the clinching game."
New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has enjoyed bantering with Warriors coach Steve Kerr. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Making adjustments
Gentry's fun personality complemented Kerr's. Kerr noticed it lightened up Warriors veteran assistant coach Ron Adams. And, as Warriors president Rick Welts observed, Gentry "probably had the closest personal relationships with the players themselves."
"No matter if it's your best player on our team in Steph or the equipment guys, Alvin treats everyone the same," Warriors guard Klay Thompson sad. "That's why he's a hell of a guy."
Therefore when Warriors forward Draymond Green touted his defensive credentials, Gentry said he "would go back and forth on that all the time." Gentry often told Green, "I don't care how good you are. You can't win a game, 0-0. You got to be able to score baskets. You can win, 120-118."
How did Gentry keep everyone loose? Well, his personality helped. No one would have laughed at Gentry's antics, though, if someone else performed them.
"That's where the fine line comes in. You can be joking around and messing around, and guys are looking at you like you're a clown. Alvin never fell into that trap," Fraser said. "He can joke, but when it came time to be prepared and add value with his mind, he was sharp and well respected."
Therefore, Kerr might have been amused when he heard Gentry's halftime message following a Suns' awful defensive performance: "Guys you have to try defensively. You have to care. Come on guys. You're like a middle-aged man driving a minivan. You don't care anymore!" But that does not explain why Kerr promoted Gentry to head coach in the middle of the 2008-09 season.
Kerr had more practical reasons. Kerr had philosophical differences with Mike D'Antoni, a disagreement that both Kerr later regretted and partly prompted D'Antoni to leave in 2008 for the New York Knicks' head-coaching position. Before that breakup, Kerr had traded four-time All-Star Shawn Marion guard Marcus Banks to Miami for star center Shaquille O'Neal before the trade deadline in the 2007-08 season, a move Kerr also regretted. After the Suns' first-round flameout to San Antonio and D'Antoni's subsequent departure, Kerr hired Terry Porter to oversee an offense that performed at a slower tempo than D'Antoni's system that became known for its "Seven Seconds or Less"
0 Response to "NBA playoffs: Inside the mutual respect and playful ribbing between Steve Kerr and Alvin Gentry - The Mercury News"
Post a Comment