The internet is having a field day with Steve Kerr and Tom Thibodeau after the two coaches had wildly different reactions to similar situations. Both coaches heard their players (Draymond Green in Kerr’s case and Jalen Brunson in Thibs’ case) get serenaded with “F*** you” chants in their most recent road playoff game. But while Thibs shrugged it off and even embraced it, Kerr came off a bit holier than thou, which is a tough hill to die on when it’s Draymond Green you’re defending.
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Draymond received the chants in Houston in Game 2 as the Rockets were in the process of evening up the series with the Warriors. It’s not the first time an opposing fanbase has told him what they really feel, and Draymond himself even mockingly chanted it when the Warriors beat the Celtics for the title in 2022.
“I would prefer if fans could use a little more discretion,” Kerr said. “Remember that the guy has kids… maybe I’m old school, but I’m all for fans cheering for their team, and if they want to yell at the opponents, great, but I just think ‘F you’ is a little much.”
Thibs went the other way, saying after Brunson received the same chants in Game 3 in Detroit, “To Jalen those are cheers. He lives for that stuff.”
Fans on Reddit blasted Kerr for what they saw as a hypocritical take. “Jordan Poole is somebody’s son,” said one in reference to Draymond punching his own teammate. “A bit sanctimonious from Kerr given the player’s history,” said another.
Those same fans loved Thibs’ response, with one crediting him with a “common Thibs w.” Another said this was “San Francisco vs. New York in microcosm.”
You can’t take the moral high ground when you coach Draymond Green
Draymond has built his career on being an instigator at best and a dirty player at worst. Though I agree with Kerr’s take in general (I would hesitate to bring my kids to a game or even let them watch on TV if I knew those kinds of chants were going to happen), he doesn’t have a leg to stand on here.
If those chants were directed at Steph Curry or Jimmy Butler or literally anyone else on the Warriors roster, then maybe, but even then, Kerr knows what kind of stuff Draymond does and gets away with, so he’s not the messenger we need here.
Thibs, on the other hand, gets it. He brings that New York attitude where giving someone the bird is a way of saying “hello.” Knicks fans serenade Trae Young with this same chant every time they see him, so it would be crazy for Thibs to be upset about his guy hearing it on the road.
Thibs is also right that Brunson seems to feed off it, as the All-NBA guard went for 30 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists to wrest home-court advantage back for his Knicks.
That’s what’s so funny about Kerr’s Draymond take. Nobody in the league relishes being the villain more than Draymond. He thrives on making other teams and their fans crazy. Hearing these kinds of things gives him life.
Kerr and his Warriors need to focus on what really matters. With the series now tied up and Jimmy Butler questionable for Game 3 after a scary fall on Wednesday, it’s going to take everything they’ve got to hold serve at home.
