A day after James Harden complained about refs screwing the Rockets out of the opener of their second-round series against the Warriors (at least according to he and his coach) Golden State head man Steve Kerr appeared to be taking some digs at he and maybe his coach.
We say that because Kerr started a Monday interview by flopping against the reporters set to speak with him:
Harden, and the rest of Houston by extension, had their ire drawn after officials declined to blow the whistle for plays where Warriors players appeared to undercut Rockets players after their shot(s). Kerr, a former three-point shooter himself, wasn't buying those concerns.
"And in the modern era, players have gotten really good at deception, creating contact," Kerr said in video from The Athletic's Anthony Slater, which you can see in the clip above. "I don’t remember people falling down on 3-point shots all the time when I played. … The game has gotten, so much deception is a part of the game that it’s very, very difficult to officiate. … I am disappointed this has become the whole narrative when it should be about two great teams competing against each other."
Harden had stated in Sunday afternoon's postgame presser that he just wanted a "fair chance" for Houston. The league did put out a 2-minute report, as is the standard, which stated that Harden had not been fouled on a final seconds three-point attempt that could've tied the game. However it did say that Stephen Curry fouled Eric Gordon in the resulting chase for the ball.
“It’s disappointing because the focus should be on the two teams playing extremely hard,” Kerr said. “Watching the tape, both teams just got after it and competed. You don’t think there were 10 calls where we thought we got fouled. This is how it goes. Every coach in the league will tell you the same thing. … It’s very, very difficult to officiate an NBA game. There’s all sorts of gray area.”
After apparently being made aware of Kerr's comments, Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted out this succinct response that needs no elaboration:
As for Curry, he also seemed to echo a similar theme as his coach, stating that it "sucks" that the narrative is focusing on whether or not Houston was jobbed. He added that there were 10-15 missed calls that could've gone in favor of the Warriors:
As for narratives not focused on refereeing (which seems to be an unfortunate and consistent playoff theme, year in and year out) Kerr also recently praised the postseason play of Kevin Durant, going so far as to compare him to Michael Jordan.
"There's this guy named Michael something," Kerr said, beginning a joke that we just ruined. "Can't remember his last name. No, but Kevin's run this past week has just been off the charts. I've said it a few times this week: He's the most skilled basketball player on Earth. He's one of the most skilled basketball players to ever play the game. There's never been anybody like him. Six-[foot]-11, handles the ball, shoots 3s, passes, defends. He's just an unbelievable talent. And I think after we lost Game 2 to the Clippers, I think he just felt like he had to turn it up and lift us up another level. That's exactly what he's done."
Durant scored 35 points, in addition to grabbing five rebounds, in Sunday's Game 1 win. That was actually down from the 40.2 ppg he's averaged over the past five contests, with 50 of those coming on Friday during the win over the Clippers that sent Golden State to the second round.
