In the fourth quarter of Game 4 of this year’s NBA Finals Steve Kerr made a decision to bench the Warriors’ defensive anchor Draymond Green.
It was a surprising move considering the importance of the former Defensive Player of the Year to Golden State. Green himself admitted after the game that was not happy with being substituted.
But for Kerr it was a change that he thought was needed and he was not worried if that would hurt anyone’s feelings. After the lineup without Green did its job, he put the forward back on the floor and the Dubs tied the series.
Via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports:
“I’ve been here now eight years so I know all these guys so well,” Kerr said. “I didn’t really think much about it when I took Draymond out in Game 4, because that unit was not doing well so I was really looking for a shift. And I was thinking I would just take him out for a minute or two and then get him back.
“In the NBA if you find a group that works, then you stick with it and it doesn’t matter who is on the floor. You can’t worry about anybody’s feelings being hurt or anything like that. So when that group started to play well, I wasn’t paying any attention to the bench, but Andre, you were there and I’ve heard since that you were there talking to Draymond and I’m sure he was staying ready. Sure enough, when the run ended and we went back to him, he was great and made huge plays down the stretch and it all worked out.”
