Steve Kerr acknowledges the Warriors' grim reality as a ‘fading dynasty' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr on Wednesday acknowledged the obvious but unspoken truth within the Warriors.

The golden days of yore are over. And they’re not coming back, because that’s not how the aging process works.

“We are no longer the ‘17 Warriors, dominating the league,” Kerr said. “We are a fading dynasty.

“We know that. Everybody knows that.”

The 2016-17 Warriors were an all-time great squad featuring four All-Stars: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. That team posted a 67-15 record in the regular season and went 16-1 in the postseason.

Those Warriors took a 27-4 record into a Christmas Day game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The current Warriors have been a middling bunch, with Curry as the only certain All-Star. Taking a 15-15 record into their Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks, they’re aiming for a third consecutive victory – which would tie their longest streak of the season.

Moreover, they’re two days removed from a win over the Orlando Magic that was blighted by a heated public squabble between Kerr and Green.

“We have issues, just like every other team has issues,” conceded Kerr, who said he and Green apologized to each other and that each apologized to the team. “But we have to work through them. And I believe that this was a major step in that happening. And I feel really good about where our team is on the floor, about where we’re heading. I see the potential to do exactly what we did last year, to really go on run and give ourselves a chance and where we are as a team, as an organization.

“The most important thing for me is for guys to recognize that there’s beauty in the struggle. There’s beauty in what we’re trying to accomplish right now.”

The Warriors have 52 games to pull themselves together and rise from eighth place in the Western Conference into at least the top six; they’re 3.5 games behind sixth-place Houston. Their preseason goal was to finish among the top four, and they are five games behind the fourth-place Lakers.

“What is up to us? How do we carry ourselves, night to night? How connected are we? And can we give ourselves another swing at the plate?” Kerr said. “We did that last year. I was really proud of the team last year, despite the loss against Minnesota. (Without) the injury to Steph, who knows how far we would have gone?

“But we gave ourselves a chance, and that’s the goal here. We know where we are. We’ve got to know who we are. We got to know what’s possible, and we have to take pride in the struggle, because this is part of life.”

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Draymond Green open to coming off Warriors bench; Steve Kerr not interested originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – There is a growing sentiment that Warriors coach Steve Kerr might consider asking Draymond Green to take the path once tread by Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson.

Leave the starting lineup and come off the bench.

Green, according to Kerr, would not oppose such a move.

“He’s told me,” Kerr said Wednesday after practice. “He told me, this year, ‘I’ll go to the bench if you need me to.’ I know what Draymond is about. He’s about winning.” 

The thought of such a move is based mostly on the dynamic between Jimmy Butler III and Green. Each is most valuable with the ball in his hands and, naturally, each is diminished when playing off the ball. When both are on the floor with Stephen Curry, ball distribution sometimes gets stifled.

Another factor that makes it conceivable to bring Draymond off the bench is that neither he nor Butler is a spot-up shooter. Butler is an opportunistic shooter, and Green is a pass-first ballhandler who sometimes is a reluctant shooter.

But Kerr is not ready to make any such change.

“That’s not even a consideration for me right now,” he said, “Because I’m really excited about this starting lineup: Steph, Draymond, Moses (Moody), (Quinten Post), Jimmy, I think it’s a great starting lineup for us, because we get the size and shooting of Quentin next to Dray, which takes the pressure off of him. And Dre is at his best next to Steph. He should play most of his minutes with Steph. Those two guys are incredible together.

“So, the idea of bringing him off the bench, I understand it in theory, like, well, maybe we can get this or get that. That’s all we do as a staff is think about this stuff. All day long. And we’ve had every discussion about how to make our team the best. I’m convinced it’s with what we’re doing right now.”

Kerr persuaded Iguodala to come off the bench in 2015-16 because his two-way versatility and intellect were better suited for the second unit than Harrison Barnes. Iguodala made only 25 starts over his final seven seasons, with two teams.

Kerr’s decision to have Thompson come off the bench, much to Klay’s chagrin, was in hopes of finding a game-changing scorer with the second unit. That lasted only 14 games.

Though Kerr acknowledges that Green has spent more time working on his 3-point shooting from the corners – a reliable threat from the corners would an ideal asset for lineups featuring Curry and Butler – he’s not ready to make any adjustments.

Golden State’s current starting lineup is 2-1 and will play its fourth game on Thursday, Christmas Day, against the Dallas Mavericks.

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Warriors' Steve Kerr shoulders blame for heated Draymond Green bench incident originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The incident between Draymond Green and Steve Kerr is water under the bridge.

A video surfaced online during the Warriors’ 120-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday that showed a heated discussion between Green and Kerr on the team’s bench in the third quarter that concluded with the veteran forward walking off into the locker room.

Both Green and Kerr addressed the incident after the game, admitting that tempers boiled over, but expressed confidence that they would be able to move past it.

It appears they have.

Kerr spoke to local reporters on Wednesday, and shared where things stand between him and Green while shouldering the blame for the incident.

“We talked today, we had a great chat,” Kerr said. “Frankly… Monday night was not my finest hour. That was a time I needed to be calm in the huddle. So I regret my actions in that exchange. I apologized to Dray, he apologized to me, we both apologized to the team. These things, they happen. Especially when you get two incredibly competitive people like Dray and me. Over the 12 years we’ve been together, this has happened occasionally. I’m not proud of it. We had a great chat.

“I care so much about Draymond. And the relationship we have is like family. And like family, you go through ups and downs. My number one goal, honestly, is for him to finish his career as a Warrior, with us, fighting — metaphorically, not literally — and competing together. Until we’re both done. And I believe that’s going to happen. Because I believe in Draymond and I believe in myself, and I believe in everything we’ve built for the last 12 years.” (h/t The San Francisco Standard’s Danny Emerman)

Kerr revealed that both he and Green also discussed the incident with the team and apologized for it and said he expects “the very best” from Green in Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center.

“I do,” Kerr said when asked if he thought the air within the team was clear now. “I think there’s always going to be dynamics within a team, any team, that exist all season long. And it’s the coach’s job and the leaders of the team’s job to help guys through those circumstances. We have issues just like every other team has issues. But we have to work through them.

“I believe this was a major step in that happening. I feel really good about where our team is on the floor, about where we’re heading. I see the potential to do exactly what we did last year. To really go on a run and give ourselves a chance.”

There has been plenty of outside speculation surrounding Green’s future with the Warriors, especially since Monday night’s incident. However, Kerr believes it’s clear that Green wants to finish his illustrious NBA career with one team and one team only: The Warriors.

“Oh yeah. One of the things I love about Draymond is his loyalty … He’s loyal to the Warriors. Loyal to me. Loyal to Steph [Curry]. He wants to be here his whole career. I want nothing more than that. I love Draymond, love everything he’s meant to me, to the organization, to the Bay. He’s a complicated guy.

“He’d be the first to admit that. He’s very complex. But he’s undyingly loyal and passionate and I will go to bat for him as long as I’m coaching him here. Honestly, I’d go to bat for him 20 years from now when we haven’t been together. That’s how strongly I feel about him. And that’s how I want this thing to end with us, whenever that is.”

With the incident now behind them, Green, Kerr and the Warriors will re-focus and look to extend Golden State’s current winning streak to three games on Christmas Day against former Warriors guard Klay Thompson and the Mavericks.

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The Celtics' biggest holiday gift? Being ahead of schedule originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Merry Christmas, Celtics fans. Boston doesn’t have a game on the NBA’s marquee day for the first time in a decade, but we suspect it will only be a one-year holiday hiatus. Heck, if the league could flex the Celtics into the Cavaliers’ spot on Thursday, they probably would.

Instead, you can spend the 25th savoring the strides these Celtics have made since a jarring summer overhaul. Think about how hazy the future appeared after all the summer changes, and contrast that with the optimism that flows about where this team is headed.

It’s easy to get caught up in the wins and losses — the fact that Boston sits seven games over .500 and in third place in the Eastern Conference with a third of the season in the rearview is encouraging on its own — but the real victory here is just how bright the future appears.

Jaylen Brown has muscled himself into the MVP conversation while making 30-point nights seem routine. Jayson Tatum has attacked his rehab from Achilles surgery and has a chance to at least ponder a return in a season most thought he’d miss entirely. Boston’s entire cluster of young wings, including recent draftees Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez, have all impacted winning far more than anyone could have expected to this point.

Joe Mazzulla is pushing all the right buttons, and while he’d be the first to suggest that nobody cares, he deserves to be in the way-too-early conversation for Coach of the Year. And if they keep their foot on the accelerator heading into calendar year 2026, the Celtics could give president of basketball operations Brad Stevens even more motivation to seek big man help that would bolster the roster for a stretch run.

The Celtics are 18-11 with the sixth-best point differential in the NBA (+5.9). They’d be on pace to hit Phil Jackson’s 40/20 rule (40 wins before 20 losses) if not for a couple stumbles against inferior opponents. They still might get there given a favorable strength of schedule through the early portion of 2026.

But again, taking a step back: Even if Boston does throw itself into contention more than most expected this season, the longer-term future is even more tantalizing. It’s fair to daydream about what a Tatum/Brown combo is capable of when, 1) Tatum has fully shaken rust from his Achilles rehab and 2) Teams can’t load up on Brown again with Tatum back on the floor.

Big man Neemias Queta has thrived in increased minutes. Walsh has been a revelation, looking like an All-Defense stalwart whom opposing coaches and players can’t stop gushing about. And then there’s 19-year-old Gonzalez, with his limitless motor, who makes the kinds of winning plays that endeared Marcus Smart to fans throughout his Boston tenure.

There were so many questions surrounding this team entering the season. Could Brown thrive in the 1A role? Could Mazzulla get the most out of an overhauled roster that lost a ton of talent? Could Queta fill the big-man role after the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet? Would any of Boston’s young wings emerge as viable rotation options in the long term?

The answer to each questions has basically been an emphatic, “Yes.” Beyond some long-distance shooting slumps for Payton Pritchard and Derrick White, there hasn’t been much to fret for these Celtics through the first two months of the new season.

A lot has to continue to go right this season for the team to be truly competitive this season. But it feels OK to daydream, given both the wide-open nature of the East and Tatum’s potential return. Nothing about what the Celtics are doing feels fleeting. In fact, it feels like the team can be even a bit more consistent in all facets of the game.

The Celtics have already posted wins over all their top East rivals. They’ve beaten Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Toronto and Miami while going 13-4 since November 12. Boston owns both the No. 2 offensive rating and the No. 2 net rating (+9.8) in the NBA in that span.

If Santa Stevens can leave another big man under Boston’s tree — even if it doesn’t happen until January or early February — the team could further shore up the rebounding woes that have conspired against its middling defensive rating.

It’s often said that the NBA season doesn’t start until Christmas. But that would diminish what the Celtics have accomplished lately. There could still be some bumps in the road this season and it’s fair to tread cautiously with expectations. But it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think that Boston could re-emerge as a legit title contender no later than the 2026-27 campaign.

So, enjoy a quiet Christmas. It’s probably the last one without the green team for a while. The Celtics feel ahead of schedule. And that’s the best gift they could have given their fans this holiday season.

Christmas Day delivers an NBA feast, with five marquee matchups featuring playoff implications, star power and plenty of fantasy intrigue. From a bruising Eastern Conference showdown at Madison Square Garden to a heavyweight clash between San Antonio and Oklahoma City, this slate offers no shortage of storylines. Injuries loom large across several games, creating potential value swings and unexpected rotation changes. Superstars like Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell headline the action, while emerging contributors could swing outcomes. Here's a game-by-game breakdown of what to watch as the NBA takes center stage on Christmas.

Christmas Day NBA Matchups

Cleveland Cavaliers (17-14) at New York Knicks (20-9)

New York leads this season series 1-0. They're 7-3 over their past 10 games and are 14-2 at home. Cleveland is 5-5 over their past 10 and are 6-6 on the road.

Like many of the games on this Christmas Day slate, there's a notable injury report. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby are both questionable, while Evan Mobley remains sidelined. Potential absences to Brunson and Anunoby could lead to more minutes for Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson, plus Mitchell Robinson and wing players like Ariel Hukporti. For the Cavs, Dean Wade has been starting in place of Evan Mobley, and Sam Merrill is coming off a great performance and will help with the team's offensive punch. Jaylon Tyson and Jarrett Allen should also continue seeing expanded roles. Donovan Mitchell has been Cleveland's best performer, averaging 31.9 points, 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals this month. Brunson has been New York's best player, but know for sure that Karl-Anthony Towns will be available. In December, he's producing 23.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals.

San Antonio Spurs (22-7) at Oklahoma City Thunder (26-4)

The Spurs lead this season series 2-0. They're 9-1 over their past 10, winning seven straight, and are 10-5 on the road. OKC is 7-3 over their past 10 and are undefeated at home.

This game has a much cleaner injury report than Cavs/Knicks, though Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell are notably questionable. Absences to them could create more opportunities for Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and others. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to produce at an MVP level, averaging 32.4 points, 6.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks in December. For the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama has come off the bench for five straight games and produced 17.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks in 20.6 minutes. It's unclear if he'll rejoin the starting five and see a minutes increase for Christmas Day.

Dallas Mavericks (12-19) at Golden State Warriors (15-15)

This is the first time these teams have faced off this season. The Mavericks are 3-9 on the road but are 6-4 overall across the past 10 games. Golden State is 9-4 at home and 5-5 across the past 10 games.

Dallas has a handful of role players questionable for this game, and one starter in PJ Washington. Cooper Flagg is coming off an excellent performance, with 33 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block against the Nuggets. Anthony Davis has rounded back into form as well, averaging 26.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks across his past six games. For the Warriors, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler continue to be the team's go-to options offensively. Curry is averaging 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals over his past five. During that same stretch, Butler is averaging 21.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals.

Houston Rockets (17-10) at Los Angeles Lakers (19-9)

This is the first matchup of the season for these squads. Houston is 9-8 on the road and 4-6 across the past 10. The Lakers are 7-4 at home and 5-5 over the past 10.

Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura are questionable for this one, as is Jaxson Hayes. That means we could see expanded roles from Austin Reaves and LeBron James as the Lakers' primary creators, while Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart could see extra run. Reaves played 22 minutes in his return from a calf strain Tuesday but should be at full strength for Christmas. In his prior 10 games, he averaged 27.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Over LeBron's past six games, he's putting up 26.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.0 steals. The Rockets are being led by Alperen Sengun, who is having a career year with 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks.

Minnesota Timberwolves (20-10) at Denver Nuggets (21-8)

Denver leads this season series 2-0. They're 9-5 at home and 7-3 across the past 10. Minnesota is 8-5 on the road and are 8-2 over the past 10 with a three-game win streak.

For Minnesota, Jaden McDaniels is questionable. His potential absence could lead to more minutes for Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon. Anthony Edwards continues to lead the way with averages of 28.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals. Denver could be even more shorthanded than usual as Cam Johnson suffered a knee sprain Tuesday against the Mavericks. Assuming he is sidelined, more minutes should be in store for Tim Hardaway and Spencer Jones. Nikola Jokic is putting up MVP numbers with 28.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 10.8 assists and 1.4 steals in December.