SAN FRANCISCO – TNT analyst Kenny Smith says the Warriors need coach Steve Kerr back on the sidelines as soon as possible.
Kerr has been sidelined since the start of training camp due to complications from two back surgeries he underwent last summer. Interim coach Luke Walton will be in charge Tuesday night when the Warriors begin defense of their NBA championship against New Orleans at Oracle Arena.
Asked how much the Warriors will miss Kerr, Smith said, “Oh, it’s going to hurt.”
There is no timetable for Kerr’s return to action, but Smith said the Warriors will quickly feel his absence.
“I would say you can’t go more than 20 games. If you go more than 15, 20 games it’s going to start taking a toll,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s a great coach, but he’s great for this team.”
The best coaches make subtle moves during each game that are significant, Smith explained.
“I always go with the 15-second rule. Keeping a guy in 15 seconds too long or taking him out 15 seconds too early,” Smith said. “That’s the difference knowing your team and he had that 15-second read on that team.”
The Warriors’ early schedule is filled with games against Western Conference contenders, and Smith said Golden State needs a fast start.
“They have to be a championship team from the go. They don’t have the luxury of being a sixth seed,” he said.
Smith wouldn’t take sides on the Warriors’ contract negotiations with small forward Harrison Barnes, whose agent reportedly turned down a four-year, $64 million offer last month.
“I never look at a guy’s salary as defining him as a player. But I know they need Harrison Barnes,” Smith said. “They don’t have anyone else who has the ability to post up and shoot 3s and defend at that position. I don’t know what he’s worth, but I know he’s worth a championship to them.
“I’m not saying he’s the best player on the team, but you can’t win a championship without him.”
Smith, who won back-to-back NBA titles as point guard of the Houston Rockets in 1994 and ’95, said two things most often derail the efforts of a championship team trying to repeat.
“Complacency – I call it fat-cat-itis,” Smith said. “Guys buying new cars, guys believing they are as good as what they read about. That’s just human nature, so you have to fight against that.”
Secondly, he said opponents will be better prepared for the Warriors this time.
“Teams have geared their draft picks or their trades to beat you. Now they’re doing that to get by them,” he said. “And that, my friend, is the first time for all of them.”
For more on the Warriors, see the Inside the Warriors blog at www.ibabuzz.com/warriors.
