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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS


June 3, 2018


Steve Kerr


Oakland, California: Game Two

Q. How are Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala for tonight?
STEVE KERR: Andre won't play. Klay will warm up and we'll see. He was doing better this morning when he checked in with the training staff, so I'm hopeful that he'll play.

Q. Just seeing what LeBron did in Game 1, would you entertain the idea of maybe double-teaming him as he crosses half court to have him get rid of the ball and have his teammates forced to make a play?
STEVE KERR: I appreciate the question. I'm always amused that I'm asked to come up here two hours before the game and answer questions about strategy. I understand this is the protocol, but I'm not going to reveal what we're going to do defensively. That would seem quite silly to me.

The fact that I'm here two hours before the game seems silly to me, but I've got to do what I've got to do.

Q. No problem, Coach.
STEVE KERR: Thanks for the question. Good try.

Q. Shaun Livingston has obviously had a lot of success over the past few years without a three-point shot. Have you ever encouraged him to step beyond the arc since you've been his coach over the past few years?
STEVE KERR: We talked about it his first year here and he shot a few corner threes that year. But he never got comfortable with it, and so we never really pressed the issue.

I think he's a great shooter. But he knows his range. He knows his game. So he sticks to that.

Q. Has Andre shown any progress to make you more optimistic that he could maybe play in Cleveland? And two, can you remember Klay having to play limited when he's been on the court, maybe hobbling around? How effective has he been?
STEVE KERR: I'm optimistic Andre will play at some point in the series. He has gotten better gradually, but there's no way of knowing for sure at this point.

As for Klay, it just seems like Klay is never injured. I don't really remember -- other than this year when he hurt his wrist, I don't remember him ever being hobbled before.

Q. Is the final determination regarding Klay Thompson just going to be how much pain he's in when he goes through warm-ups? Is it just a pain tolerance thing?
STEVE KERR: He's going to go warm up. And if he and the training staff say that he's OK, then we'll play him.

Q. What have you thought about Patrick McCaw's story just a couple months ago thinking he might be paralyzed to now being able to play meaningful minutes in the NBA Finals?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, it's a phenomenal story. It's a huge relief, to be honest, more than anything. Given his state that night, that was a terrifying moment for him and his family. So it's great to see how quickly he's recovered. He's done a good when we've thrown him out there for limited minutes. He knows what he's doing. It's good to see him have his health back and out there on the floor.

Q. Do you see isolation plays with Kevin Durant and the ball movement as either/or? Are they simply tools in your toolbox that you go back to?
STEVE KERR: I think ideally they're blended together. When we're at our best, that's what you see. You see the ball moving. And you see K.D. isolating, maybe after we get some action or at the end of a shot clock when the defense has done its job.

We are incredibly blessed to have him to bail us out of plenty of possessions. Obviously, we're a motion team, a flow team. So we need both.

Q. You said obviously Klay hasn't been injured. He's never missed a playoff game in his career. So for you, just dealing with rotations as well as switches, anything new for you, or you kind of have a feel if he is able not to go?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, we met as a staff this morning to go over that scenario. So we have a plan in place if he doesn't play, and we'll go from there.

But this is how it has to work. When guys are out, you've got to turn to the next option and guys have to be ready to step up and play.

Q. Even though Andre is not playing, is there a way you could quantify what his value is to the team, specifically the young players on this team? It looks like he has a pretty heavy influence on those guys, like Kevon Looney?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, not just those guys, but us, our coaching staff too. He came into the huddle the other night in Game 1 with a great suggestion that we went with, and it worked. Andre knows the game as well as anybody, and I always welcome his input. He's been a great mentor for the younger guys in this group the last few years. He's doing everything he can while he's on the sidelines to help us out.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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