OAKLAND — The Warriors held practice on Wednesday because, well, what else are they supposed to do with all this time off?
Golden State is staring five or seven days of rest square in the face until the Western Conference Finals begin. Down in Texas, the Rockets and Spurs continue to beat the crap out of each other. Tuesday’s Game 5 went into overtime and saw Kawhi Leonard injure his ankle.
Besides Steve Kerr’s health, the Warriors are sitting about pretty as you can be sitting. Draymond Green is playing his best basketball of the season and the team leads the NBA in nearly every defensive category. Golden State is 23-1 since resting all of their stars in San Antonio on March 11. Whether they’re better than LeBron James and the Cavaliers, we don’t know just yet. But this is clearly the cream of the crop in the Western Conference.
So what exactly is all the advantage of this rest? A couple of notes.
1. Healing their bodies
Have you noticed something about the NBA postseason? Defenders are allowed to get away with a lot more holding and grabbing than they are in the regular season. Probably more than any other player in the league, Steph Curry is mercilessly gripped. Those bumps and bruises can take a toll when you’re playing every other night.
“These games are a lot more physical than the regular season,” Mike Brown said. “You are a little bit more banged up now than you would’ve been in the regular season.”
Additionally, some guys are still playing through a bit of pain. Shaun Livingston (hand), Matt Barnes (foot/ankle) and don’t forget Draymond tweaking his knee in Game 2 against Utah. More physicality is looming in the next two rounds and the Warriors will be equipped to handle it.
2. Extra time to prepare game plans
So many times after a win, you’ll hear Steve Kerr or Draymond Green say, “We just executed the game plan.” While they have to create two separate plans for Houston and San Antonio, the Warriors’ coaching staff has ample time to dissect the best way to attack James Harden or Leonard.
Kerr was vocal that the turnaround from the regular season to the first round of the playoffs put pressure on his coaches for a quick turnaround on game plans. Now the think-tank atmosphere Kerr has created within his staff can go to work. New ideas will be exchanged and strategies will be implemented.
3. A mental break
Klay Thompson and Draymond have been going non-stop, really, since October of 2015. A few weeks after the NBA Finals collapse in June of 2016, they both headed to Las Vegas for Olympic camp. Then came a cross country tour of exhibition games. Then Brazil. Then all of a sudden a training camp, the preseason and before you know it, November. Both will say they are hoopers and love every minute of it, but the pair had very little time off last offseason.
Thompson has said the warm weather and time off contributed to his hot shooting streak in April. Draymond has told reporters having a son has calmed him down — he’ll get to spend more quality time with his boy these next few days instead of bickering with referees. Andre Iguodala has said when he and teammates play golf together, that’s when things really start clicking on the court. So instead of stressing out about getting past the Jazz, the Warriors get a much needed period of relaxation.
4. Buys more time for Kerr
Even though everything is going incredibly well with Brown, the Warriors desperately want Kerr back on the sidelines. He’s still making coaching adjustments that are contributing to wins from 3,000 miles away at Duke Hospital Center. His basketball mind is unparalleled and Golden State needs him just as much as one of their star players to topple LeBron.
Way back on April 23, Kerr said he would only return if he knew he was well enough to stay on the sidelines for the remainder of the postseason.
“This is not going to be a case where I’m coaching one night and not coaching the next,” Kerr said. “I’m not going to do that to our team, our staff.”
Because the Warriors are playing so well, and because many of us think they’ll beat the Rockets or Spurs in five games or less, is it possible Kerr returns solely for the NBA Finals? Five weeks of rest could give him the strength to finish off the season. What an emotional boost it would give the Warriors to see Kerr manning the sidelines in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.