Steve Kerr returned to the Golden State Warriors on Friday and plans to be on the bench in his role as head coach when the team hosts the Indiana Pacers.
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In a split-second, Walton realized he wasn’t acting as the Warriors’ head coach anymore and sat back down to the left of Steve Kerr.
Walton took over and led the Warriors to the most wins to open a season in National Basketball Association history, and came just a few games shy of tying the record for most consecutive wins in a single season.
Kerr became a little emotional when he talked about the support his wife, Margot, the Warriors’ coaching staff and general manager Bob Myers provided him during his recovery. Walton’s near-perfect coaching stint has led to the expectation he will be a top head-coaching candidate next offseason. “It’s just good to be back coaching and be back with the group”.
But Warriors backup guard Leandro Barbosa had five of his 13 points to stem the tide, and Golden State put out several small fires before Curry connected from 24 feet on the right side for a 109-96 advantage with just 4:15 to play.
Kerr injured himself during the Warriors’ championship run when an animated movement on the NBA Finals sidelines led to a ruptured disc and multiple surgeries. Yet, Kerr is returning nearly exactly at the mid-point of the season. And after watching the press conference this afternoon, it’s hard for me to believe that the problem was Blatt. “And hopefully as we go through the season, we’ll continue to send some messages”.
“That wasn’t our best stuff”, Kerr said of the performance in general. There are still questions of how Kerr will do for the remainder of the season, but a new question has arisen: How big will his standing ovation will be when Golden State tips off against IN tonight?
Curry’s eighth 3-pointer of the game provided the crowning blow after the Pacers had gotten as close as six in the fourth period. “It feels like the first game of the season, which it is for me”.
When the interview ended quickly, Walton handed Kerr back the play-board, but Kerr said he insisted that Walton draw something up.
The next game for Kerr and the Warriors is Monday’s showdown against the San Antonio Spurs, who at 38-6 have the NBA’s second-best record and will bring a 13-game win streak to Oracle Arena.
Kerr couldn’t wait to get back out there.
“But the last 10 days or so have been great; I’ve really felt good physically”.
Pacers: Ellis played his initial 6 1/2 seasons for the Warriors from 2005-12, then was traded to Milwaukee in the deal that brought Andrew Bogut to Golden State in March 2012…. He has been involved with the team’s daily activities recently, accompanying the Warriors on their just-completed trip to Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago.
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“To be where I was, I can’t ask for anything more”, said Green, who fell behind San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Dallas’ Zaza Pachulia in the final vote.
