Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed confidence in his team's ability to contain Houston Rockets star James Harden, boasting the right personnel to keep him in check and make his looks much tougher than they've been throughout the course of the season.

“I think we’re as equipped to try to contain him as anybody, just with Andre, Klay (Thompson) and Kevin (Durant),” Kerr told Sam Amick of The Athletic after Game 2. “We’re lucky to have long-arm defenders who are good at what they do and can at least try to bother him. You know, he’s going to get his numbers. He’s going to make his shots. You have to live with some of the stuff and try to take away the easy stuff. …Everybody’s locked in defensively in the playoffs, so you try to make it hard on everyone no matter who it is. So we just do our best. But he’s a load.”

Perhaps the biggest change from this series to the Western Conference Finals that took place last postseason is the presence of Andre Iguodala, who limited Harden and Chris Paul to one field goal in 41 matchups as the primary defender.

Andre Iguodala, stats graphic
ESPN

Iguodala was sidelined with an injury after Game 3, which made a massive difference in containing Harden and company, as the Warriors lacked their Swiss army knife on the defensive end.

While the Warriors prevailed and eventually went on to win their second straight title, the incorporation of Iguodala in the starting lineup helps give the top-heavy Warriors more options defending Harden and making life more difficult for the reigning MVP.