Before the Boston Celtics hoisted their 18th banner, they won the title with Doc Rivers’ expertise in 2008. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett stole the headlines. But don’t sleep on Rajon Rondo’s influence in the series. Besides becoming a menace on the court with 2.0 steals in 5 years, Rondo’s coaching trajectory kicked off then. Doc Rivers often speaks about his coaching ability and took him in at Milwaukee. Now, let’s look at a similar situation with the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr’s recent assistance.

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green!

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green’s coaching masterclass with Steve Kerr?

No, the two didn’t play as they are recovering from injuries. But they dug deep into their inner coaching intelligence to spur the team. Facing the Houston Rockets was an invaluable coaching experience for these two players. Who knows? They might take over the reins at the Chase Center. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. 

Well, yes, having players who won 4 NBA titles to motivate the younger generation makes a difference. It got the Warriors past the gritty Houston Rockets with a scoreline of 99-93. Notably, Steve Kerr acknowledged them for providing an off-court assist during the game. 

“Oh, they were great. Steph and I were discussing the timeout situation. You know, 33 seconds left. Up three. I took the time,” mentioned Kerr.

With the Warriors wanting to close the game out, they led the Rockets 96-93 with 33 seconds to go. Upon discussing with Curry, Kerr took it as they advanced up the court. Hence, Jonathan Kuminga, who had a career-high night of 33 points, scored a crucial driving lay-up to extend the lead to 5 points. The crowd got hyped, and we saw Draymond and Steph chest-bumping Kuminga. Chase Arena erupts as all hell breaks loose.

Hence, Kerr went into a deep discussion during the timeout with the help of Curry and Green. He drew plays out and set the team to finish the game.

“We were discussing this beforehand, you know. Should we take the timeout to get our foul shooters in and out you know? We needed a really good offensive possession. So we needed spacing. So, here, I’m talking to Steph about it. Draymond’s talking to our guys in the huddle, you know, about what’s going on defensively. Taking to Stack. Taling to CD. So, they were very engaged, and yeah, we needed that,” concluded Kerr. 

New-generation Warriors end the winless streak!

It’s great to see the two veterans supporting Kerr, who, by the way, is under pressure. They started the season with a bang, with a 10-2 run. But right after that, inconsistency crept in, and before this game, they were on a winless streak of 5 games. Doubts about Steve Kerr’s ability to lead the team began to arise.

But he pulled a rabbit out of his hat!

Without Curry and Green, the Warriors depended on Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga for inspiration. As we discussed Kuminga’s exploits, Wiggins came in hot, too, with 23 points. On the other hand, Kerr detailed how Podziemski’s shooting confidence was low. 

“Everything I said has already been said to Brandin. The reason I said it to the media is it puts a little pressure on him. I never said anything that I didn’t think about first. That didn’t just come, you know, out of anger for the loss. That came because he needed to get the message. [That] message is a really important one because he’s such a good player, he’s such an important player for us,” said Kerr, as per SI. 

He didn’t have an effective shooting night ending with 8 points and shot 2-9 from the field. But what he did have was rebounds with 11 in the game. Brandin Podziemski is a different type of guard who plays good defense and can rebound the ball well. It’s like Dennis Rodman having 20+ rebounds with fewer points. With Curry advising Kerr, he could also mentor Podziemski to improve his shooting game. 

All in all, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green opened Steve Kerr’s eyes with their ability to coach. It would greatly benefit the Warriors franchise for the two legends to remain in the Bay Area for coaching opportunities. After their careers, of course.

From the looks of it, they certainly can. Steve Kerr might have pulled off two Rajon Rondos in a way Doc Rivers did at the Celtics.