This year’s NBA Playoffs have been filled with uncertainty and underdog victories. Not only have supposedly lesser opponents knocked out most of the league’s top seeds, but they’ve also been getting it done more often on the road than at home. Multiple series have started with the home team down 2-0, which is not necessarily a rarity but is still a shock because many expected the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers to cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Prior to the Pacers’ Game 2 win over the Knicks, and with the concept of home-court advantage seemingly dwindling, Draymond Green recalled a classic Steve Kerr playoff strategy that the Warriors have been implementing for years. The veteran head coach has long recognized the importance of making a statement on the road.
Just as Indiana has done against New York during their first two contests, Kerr has always wanted to make opponents — and their fans — feel uncomfortable about the outcome of the game. Home-court advantage was once viewed as a massive boon in the postseason, but players and coaches with mentalities like Kerr have changed the status quo.
After sharing that he’d be attending Game 2 of the ECF and why he was excited to do so, the former Defensive Player of the Year shared what Kerr tells his players. “One of the things that Steve [Kerr] talks about oftentimes in these high-pressure moments is,” Green said before putting his face to the camera, “‘Yo, let’s make the crowd nervous.'”
“‘Let’s go in here, 3-3, Game 7.’ And I’ve obviously been in this situation a bunch of times with Steve Kerr. ‘Let’s go in here, play our game, let it fly. We lettin’ it rip. You open, let it rip, we ain’t got nothing to lose,'” the Warriors forward recalled his coach’s words. “Like, we good. We here. We already know how this gonna go. And then [Kerr] say, ‘Let’s make the crowd nervous.'”
Kerr’s strategy has certainly proven successful for the Dubs throughout his tenure with the franchise. Taking out the crowd’s energy can easily make a home team overthink, but it’s also difficult to accomplish for most visiting opponents. When your team boasts basketball’s greatest shooter and one of the NBA’s most clutch players in Steph Curry, though, that plan becomes much easier to implement.
Throughout their dynasty and even into the late stages of Steph’s career, the Dubs have been true road warriors, no pun intended. At their best, it didn’t matter what arena Golden State was playing at in the postseason, they were expected to win. Even this year, when the Warriors entered both matchups as somewhat of an underdog, they persevered on the road.
Golden State snagged two road victories in their first-round win over the Houston Rockets and even managed to take the first contest of the Western Conference Semi-Finals in Minnesota before Curry went down. The Warriors may not have much time left with their current core, but their capabilities on the road extended their run.
