On the eve of another win-or-go-home matchup against the Sacramento Kings, Warriors coach Steve Kerr had plenty of praise for Steph Curry’s epic Game 7 performance in last season’s first-round NBA playoff series, even referencing an Austin Reaves meme.
When asked by reporters during a press conference Monday, Kerr was asked his take on Curry’s historic 50-point game against the Kings to clinch the Game 7 victory.
“He’s one of the great clutch players in the history of the league, we know that,” Kerr said. “I think he led the league in player efficiency this year and clutch minutes. We’ve seen him win championships, win Finals MVP, I mean Steph Curry is Steph Curry.
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“So, that performance did not surprise me because he’s that guy. ‘He’s him,’ I think Austin Reaves said. What I remember about that game is that we extended a lead at the end of the third, I think we went into the fourth up by 12 or something and so we had timeouts saved up.
“And the conversation you’re referring to I think I was telling him we can take a timeout anytime you want just to get a couple of minutes of rest. And we were able to control that fourth quarter, but he was so sublime.”
Kerr’s funny hat-tip to Reaves is a reference to the Los Angeles Lakers guard’s Game 1 effort against the Memphis Grizzlies in last year’s opening round, where a mic’d up Reaves famously yelled “I’m him” after a perfect fourth-quarter shooting performance.
Golden State Warriors
Kerr and the Warriors find themselves in a do-or-die play-in game at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night, facing a tough Kings team that Golden State has struggled against this season.
For the Warriors to advance in the playoffs, they must beat the Kings and then defeat the loser of the Lakers-New Orleans Pelicans 7-vs.-8 play-in game. Doing so would net Golden State the No. 8 seed and a best-of-seven series against the No.1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.
Given Curry’s penchant for epic playoff performances, all eyes will be on the Warriors in the showdown between the NBA’s two Northern California franchises.