The Warriors are the best team in the NBA…unless you ask Mark Stein and a big reason that is coaching. The question is, does Steve Kerr deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the vast improvement?

Kerr undoubtedly inherited a talented team. The 2013-2014 Warriors were top 10 in defensive efficiency and top 10 in FG% and PPG. Without Andrew Bogut and David Lee they pushed the Clippers to seven games in a playoff series that saw the coming out party (at least to a national audience) of Draymond Green.


Now just because you inherit a talented team doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically take them to the next level—ask Doc Rivers. In all honesty Steve Kerr does deserve a lot of the credit for the Warriors surprise early season performance, not that he ever would ever say it publicly. Kerr’s given Mark Jackson his just due but its Kerr’s approach to offense (and a talented bench) that has helped transform this team.

Although he wasn’t sold on Draymond when he first took the job, inserting him into the starting lineup as the stretch four Kerr so coveted has brought a new wrinkle to the Dubs offense. This move birthed the third splash (step)brother (Draymond’s J is a little streaky, so he can’t be a full on splash bro yet) and added much needed defensive toughness and passing from the front court. Which is something the Warriors sorely lacked in Bogut’s absences.

Another adjustment made to the starting five that spoke volumes was putting Harrison Barnes to a place he thrived in at times and convincing Andre Igoudala to come off the bench.

Barnes PPG aren’t up by much but he’s shooting 50% FG and nearly 45% from behind the arch, both 10% higher than the 2013-2014 season. Not to mention he’s grabbing two more boards per came compared to last season. Clearly Barnes’ much talked about confidence issue is no longer a concern.

Kerr’s rotations are also head and shoulders above Mark Jackson’s weird full-subs. Kerr mixes and matches Iggy, Lee and Speights with starters depending on the opposition, often providing crazy mismatches that most teams can’t handle. To Jackson’s credit, the Warriors didn’t have much talent on the bench last year. The additions of Livingston and Barbosa have looked like marvelous moves thus far. Also who could have guessed that Speights would be playing well enough to be mentioned in the Sixth Man of the Year convo?

Although Kerr will most likely get all of the credit, the props should be divvied out to Kerr and his supporting staff. First off, Alvin Gentry gets credit for what he brings to the table offensively and what he took away from the Clippers. Gentry wasn’t great as a head coach but he’s a great assistant for sure.

Ron Adams, who Kerr pulled away from the Bulls deserves accolades from every Warriors fan because he has gotten Stephen Curry to buy in on the defensive end. “It doesn’t matter how many points I score. He seems to find that one or two things that I can do better on the defensive end after every game that kind of knocks you back into reality a little bit,” said Curry to Bay Area News Group. “You can always get better, and I have to be to be a championship-caliber point guard and for us to try to get where we’re trying to go.”

Finally, the recently retired Luke Walton gives Warriors players a young coach that they can express concerns to that they might not feel comfortable talking to the veteran coaches about. Walton has also played against many of the players that are still in the league so he provides first hand experience that Gentry and Kerr cannot.

If the Warriors are able to translate this regular season success into playoff wins Kerr (and his staff) will get loads of praise and they deserve it.