Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been on the losing end of a few games against the Boston Celtics in recent seasons, including a thriller in November, so he knows how well they’re capable of playing.
The Celtics gave arguably their best performance of the season Sunday at TD Garden when they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-83 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Kerr admitted Monday on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he didn’t see the Celtics beat the Cavs because his team was traveling to Houston for the Western Conference finals.
He did, however, offer an explanation as to why the Celtics are so good defensively.
“What Boston’s able to do — they’re the best defensive team in the league,” Kerr told host Dan Patrick. “They’re able to take away a lot of stuff because they’re so versatile. They got multiple athletes, multiple wings who can guard and switch the posts. Al Horford’s a great modern-day center. He can protect the rim and still get out to play guards, kind of like Draymond Green. That’s what it takes these days. We’ve been lucky (in Golden State). We’ve got a lot of defensive versatility, too.”
The Warriors, if they reach the NBA Finals, would be favored to win the series regardless of who emerges from the East, but the Celtics’ defense probably makes them a tougher opponent than the Cavs.
