Golden State Warriors: 5 Reasons For Confidence In Game 3

3. The Coaching Edge

No offense to Monty Williams, but Steve Kerr has a major advantage in this department despite being a rookie head coach who had never coached in an NBA playoff game before last Saturday. In a playoff series, game-to-game adjustments are a huge deciding factor in who emerges triumphant. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Kerr has a major edge there.

After riding his starters in Game 1, Kerr was able to rest his starters more in Game 2 despite the fact that that second game was a lot closer. Monty Williams, in contrast, played Omer Asik too much, gave Ryan Anderson a total of nine minutes in Game 2 and sat on three timeouts in the fourth quarter when his superstar Anthony Davis — who played 45 minutes on the night — was clearly gassed late in the game.

Kerr’s reserves stepped up, gave the starters a break and helped Klay Thompson preserve his energy for that big fourth quarter. Davis, on the other hand, missed his help-side defense on a few plays that led to easy Golden State buckets to put the game away.

When Davis stepped out to guard Curry on the perimeter, the Dubs learned how to play their mismatches elsewhere on the floor under Kerr’s guidance. Williams, meanwhile, was busy giving Dante Cunningham minutes over Quincy Pondexter, the reserve who scored 20 points in Game 1.

To be fair, the Pelicans’ defense was playing pretty well with Cunningham on the floor, and Pondexter was having an off night, going 1-for-8. But Williams also left his same five players in late in the fourth quarter after that same lineup gave up a 12-2 run.

Kerr is a Coach of the Year candidate. Monty Williams is the guy who questioned whether the decibel level at Oracle Arena was legal. This isn’t even a debate. Even on the road, Kerr will put his team in a position to win more often than Williams.

Next: No. 2