Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised rookie Yaxel Lendeborg’s competitiveness but criticized his focus on individual defensive statistics following the team’s blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lendeborg exchanged words with Luka Doncic during Wednesday’s season opener and later claimed he had “lost all respect” for the Lakers superstar because of his “whining” toward officials.
The rookie also pointed to his defensive performance against Doncic, who shot just 1-of-5 in their individual matchups despite finishing with 28 points.
“Who the eff cares?” Kerr said of the one-on-one matchup. “He did a good job on Luka 1-on-1, but we got torched by Luka as a team. I don’t care. … It’s like, they scored 120 on us. That stuff’s all bulls–t. It’s our defense. He knows that. I talked to him the other day. Our defense was not good regardless of him individually when he guarded the ball.”
Lendeborg recorded 12 points, four fouls and a technical foul in 29 minutes during his NBA debut.
Kerr also identified areas where the rookie needs to improve, particularly his effort running the floor.
“He’s a little bit of a coaster,” Kerr said. “I want to see him run the floor harder. I think that will open up a lot of opportunities. He’s so skilled and big that if we get him to run the court – both ways – a little harder, a little faster, he’s going to end up finding the ball more and be more of a threat.”
Despite his criticism, Kerr expressed confidence in Lendeborg’s abilities while emphasizing that the rookie must back up his words with his performances.
“I love the young guy. He’s really talented. I love his competitiveness,” Kerr said. “Like I said, I didn’t mind the stuff the other day. But as Steph said, you’ve got to back it up. That’s the thing.
“We play the Lakers again next week, so, OK, here you go.”
