Former Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant told the Wall Street Journal the motion offense head coach Steve Kerr runs in Golden State “only works to a certain point.”
Kerr, surprisingly, wasn't offended by Durant's comments at all.
“I wasn’t at all offended what Kevin said because it’s basically the truth,” Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “You look at any system, I mean, I played the triangle with Michael Jordan. The offense ran a lot smoother all regular season and the first couple rounds of the playoffs than it did in the conference finals and Finals. It just did.
“That’s why guys like Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are who they are. They can transcend any defense. But defenses in the playoffs, deep in the playoffs, combined with the physicality of the game — where refs can’t possibly call a foul every time — means that superstars have to take over. No system is just going to dice a Finals defense up. You have to rely on individual play. I didn’t look at (his comment) as offensive. I look at that as fact.
“For us, with Kevin, I look at the ’16-17 season, his first year, as really our apex. We had great offenses every year. But that year, we had a great combination of movement and flow and systemic success combined with the brilliance of his 1-on-1 play. That was the peak of our offense functioning. That’s ideally what you want as a coach. You want a system that you can count on to get organized, get people comfortable. Then you want a couple guys who can break down a defense on their own when the offense can’t get a shot up. That’s what championship basketball is about to me.”
Kevin Durant won two titles and two Finals MVPs with the Warriors. The 10-time All-Star averaged 25.8 points per game with the Warriors during the regular season and 29.6 points in the postseason.
Clearly, Durant was flourishing with the Warriors and under Steve Kerr despite not always being a fan of the team's offense.
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