The Golden State Warriors have had a stellar start to the 2024 season. The Warriors entered Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics with an impressive 6-1 record. However, Boston was determined to hand the Dubs another tally in the loss column. Fans in TD Garden set the tone early when Steve Kerr was announced before the game.
When the pregame announcers said Kerr’s name, Celtics fans sang a chorus of boos. If that was not an interesting enough sight, Kerr gave a hilarious response to the fans. The head coach simply waved when the boos grew louder:
Steve Kerr had been a subject of debate amongst fans after his playing time decisions on Jayson Tatum during the 2024 Olympics. Tatum saw minimal action during Team USA’s matchups, and Kerr revisited the topic before Wednesday’s Warriors-Celtics game.
“Do I have any regrets? We can’t control the story… We won the gold medal… I didn’t enjoy not playing Jayson… those are not fun decisions, but our guys were all amazing,” Kerr said.
NBA Insider Brian Windhorst revealed a key factor that led to Kerr’s benching of Tatum.
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“Jayson Tatum shot the 3-point ball very, very poorly throughout the spring,” Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective Podcast. “In the first round against the (Miami) Heat, he shot 29% on threes. In the second round against the (Cleveland) Cavaliers, 27%. And in the Conference Finals against the (Indiana) Pacers, 31%, Finals against Dallas, 26%. He shot the ball poorly from three in practice and shot the ball poorly in 3 from the warm-up games. That was a factor.”
Steve Kerr is no longer worried about Team USA rotations, as he is now focused on the best way to optimize the Warriors’ 2024-25 lineup. Despite an early injury to Stephen Curry, Ker and the Dubs have figured out an effective rotation. Can they keep their foot on the gas and stay atop the Western Conference?
Christopher Smith is a sports journalist who primarily covers the Chicago Sky, NBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL for ClutchPoints. The Aurora, Illinois native received his education from Creighton University, and he has bylines at Last Word on Sports and FanSided.