Golden State Warriors Only Know How To Win Under Steve Kerr In The Postseason
In this story:
Under head coach Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors have captured four championships since 2015 and they have long been pegged as the "team to beat" leaguewide.
With a core consisting of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, three future Hall-of-Famers, it is easy to see why the Warriors have found a lot of success. However, Kerr has his fingerprints all over Golden State's success and what they have done in the playoffs under him is insane to think about.
Since Steve Kerr took over as the Warriors head coach ahead of the 2014-15 season, the Warriors have played in 18 different playoff series against other Western Conference teams.
In those series, the Warriors are 18-0 and every time they have made the playoffs with Kerr as their head coach, they have gone on to make the NBA Finals.
In fact, the only two times they have lost in the playoffs since 2015 was in 2016 and 2019 when they lost to to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, respectively, in the NBA Finals!
The Warriors have had the rest of the Western Conference's number for years and while Golden State has had a lot of struggles this season, the blueprint still remains the same for them.
Curry, Thompson and Green know what it takes to win a championship, as they have done so four times, and last year's championship gives the young players on this roster like Jordan Poole, Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga and others the confidence they need to step up when it matters most.
"We get caught up in the season. We're just trying to win the next game," Kerr said recently following the team's loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers on March 15. "I know that this has been a special era to be part of with the Warriors, and the whole thing has kept me [saying], 'How long can we keep it going?'"
At home, the Warriors are 29-7, one of the best records in the entire league. However, on the road, they are just 7-27, one of the worst teams in the league.
This is definitely a cause for concern, as it seems unlikely with 12 games remaining that they will be able to clinch a Top-4-seed and host a first-round playoff series, but Kerr and the Warriors know what they are capable of, which makes them dangerous against any other Western Conference team.
"These guys still have plenty in the tank, and we want to keep this thing going as long as we can, but you can't get too wrapped up in that stuff," Kerr continued. "In our job, we just try to prepare for the next game and keep it going."
Andrew Wiggins remaining away from the team due to a personal matter and now Draymond Green serving a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul of the season is troublesome, but this is still the Golden State Warriors we are talking about.
Nobody is going to want to play them in the postseason and until someone is able to beat them in a seven-game series, they should still be regarded as the favorites in the Western Conference.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
