LeBron James, JJ Redick talk the difficulty of guarding Warriors

Episode 2 of the Mind the Game pod reminds us we shouldn’t write off Steve Kerr’s trusty offensive scheme.

Despite four NBA titles in the past nine years, fans have remained steadfast in their criticism of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr for everything from his rotations to his handling of multiple inner-team blow-ups, to his aversion to running more high screen pick and roll.

This quote from the SF Gate in January from a piece entitled, “Even the media is finally turning on Warriors head coach Steve Kerr” encapsulates just how much fans and pundits have openly doubted Coach Kerr’s handling of this team.

But there’s a chance that he’s still got an ace up his sleeve that could get the Warriors into the postseason and so some damage. Did you see LeBron James and J.J. Redick on their “Mind The Game” pod chatting about what makes Golden State’s basic “Post Split” offensive almost impossible to guard with the right personnel on the floor?

Redick was forced to chase through action most notably as an antagonist to the Warriors as a Los Angeles Clipper. Meanwhile James has been going to war with the Splash Bros-era Dubs for a decade, with many NBA titles hanging in the balance of those contests.

Hearing them dissect how to best defend it, while also simultaneously swapping horror stories of how the Warriors terrorized their teams, is a nice reminder that Coach Kerr’s scheme has plenty of juice left. Way too much juice for the Warriors to be written off just yet.