Steve Kerr Admits He Blamed Wrong Person for Will Richard Turnover vs. Knicks

Against the Knicks on Sunday, Steve Kerr was seen on national television yelling at Will Richard after Richard attempted a behind-the-back pass that resulted in a turnover.

After that game, Kerr told reporters he regretted yelling at Richard, but he added that from his angle he thought Richard could have saved the ball from going out of bounds without attempting a behind-the-back pass.

Speaking on 95.7 The Game on Tuesday, Kerr took it one step further. Instead of just calling the whole thing an overreaction, he also admitted that he blamed the wrong person.

“That was unfortunate," Kerr said. "I blamed the wrong guy for that one. … The angle that I had from the bench, I thought [Will] could have saved the ball, and then I saw it on tape. And I saw he was trying to save it from going out of bounds, and it was really Brandin’s fault on the pass itself.”

Brandin Podziemski's pass led Richard right to the baseline, which essentially forced Richard to try to pass.

But Kerr didn't realize that, which led to him yelling to Richard: "The ball matters. The ball is everything."

Kerr Had Been Silent About Turnovers for 2-Plus Months

Kerr has been frustrated with the Warriors' propensity for turnovers for years, but for a good chunk of this season, he had held it in because in early January he said, "I'm no longer talking about turnovers with the team."

The Warriors ranked 27th in turnover percentage through Jan. 2. Since then, they are 19th.

That's real improvement, especially considering the injuries they've dealt with to Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and others.

With that said, they still have plenty of room for improvement, though to some degree it's hard to blame them right now.

The Warriors' talent level was already lacking when at full strength. Without Curry and Butler, it's easy to see they often struggle to beat their defenders off the dribble, which allows defenses to key in on their over-passing or just simply steal the ball when they are forced to make something happen.

The play that resulted in a turnover against the Knicks is especially frustrating. If Podz hits Richard in stride, he'll have a dunk. If Podz leads Richard just a little bit, he can probably catch it without turning it over. But instead Podz led Richard so much that it resulted in a totally unforced turnover.

Right now, the Warriors can't afford these kinds of turnovers with their margin of error so small.