NBA Finals 2016: Why the Warriors will still win Game 5 without Draymond Green
By John Buhler
4. Steve Kerr
While losing a top-three player on one’s team would be devastating for most NBA head coaches, Golden State’s Steve Kerr is the 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year for a reason: he is great at making in-game adjustments by tinkering with his lineups’ construction.
Yes, Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue offered a fantastic counter move in Game 3 down 2-0 by starting Jefferson in place of Kevin Love at power forward because of his Game 2 concussion, Kerr has had the upper hand on Lue on the sidelines and will continue to assert his dominance over Cleveland’s glorified interim head coach.
Though the Death Lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Iguodala, and Green will not be available to thwart Cleveland late in the fourth quarter of Game 5 because of Green’s suspension, expect Kerr to find new and creative lineups that will continue to frustrate a so-so Cleveland defense.
Golden State plays with elite pace, has elite outside shooting, and though not flashy, boast a top five NBA defense. Even down a player, Kerr has played in and coached in enough big games to survive the tough loss of Green in Game 5 to win back-to-back NBA Finals as the head coach of the Warriors.
Next: 3. Klay Thompson.