OAKLAND–The Warriors’ young players loved it. The Warriors’ veterans didn’t exactly condone it. The Warriors’ head coach sees both viewpoints.
On Monday evening, Warriors’ rookie Jordan Bell threw the ball off the backboard to himself and then slammed home an emphatic two-handed dunk in the closing minutes of Golden State’s 133-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Bell’s dunk was as savage of a fastbreak dunk as any Warriors’ player will throw down this season, but it also came in garbage time of a game that was decided long before the rookie’s antics.
Because of that, Mavericks’ players and Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle didn’t appreciate the statement Bell made, and Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr said he understands why.
“I told him (Bell) after it happened, be ready for them to retaliate,” Kerr said Wednesday. “He had a bit of a bewildered look on his face. I think the issue is you’ve got old school people, players on our own team. Players like Shaun Livingston and David West. Young guys are like, man that was cool. I’m sort of in the middle. I never want to embarrass our opponent, we’ve been on the other end of it, it’s no fun.”
Kerr said he felt forward Draymond Green best articulated why Bell should have no qualms about his late-game dunk, because Green said Bell was just being himself on the floor. Golden State’s fourth-year head coach knew the Mavericks wouldn’t take kindly to the dunk, but he also said the unwritten rules of basketball have quite a bit of grey area.
“I kind of like what Draymond says. You want to make it, take it,” Kerr said. “Don’t worry about what anybody thinks and if that means you throw the ball off the backboard and you dunk it because you’re establishing yourself, go for it. I kind of like that. But I’m very reluctant to encourage it because I know how Rick felt the other night, how their team felt, they’re struggling on their home floor so we don’t want to embarrass them. But I do think we, like every sport, kind of have some unwritten rules and codes.”
Kerr continued and said he hopes Bell learns from the way Green plays the game, because Green has established himself as an energetic, dynamic presence on the floor and Kerr thinks Bell can pick up on certain cues.
“I don’t think Jordan felt like he was doing anything wrong. I cringed because I knew how Rick was looking at it. And then Draymond told Jordan, “You be you,’ and Draymond has forged an All-Star, phenomenal career out of basically saying, screw social norms, I’m going to come out and kick ass. And I like that, I respect that, and I want Jordan to do the same. But he could still just dunk it.”