Game 2: GSW @ Sacramento. Steve Kerr interview. Plus open thread.

Kings are hell-bent on revenge

Updates

(2023-10-26 7pm) Anthony Slater: Draymond Green out for the Warriors and Trey Lyles out for the Kings tomorrow night. No other rotation players on either side listed on injury report.

Inspirational verse from Steve Kerr’s interview on 95.7 on 2023-10-16:

Chris Paul’s leadership

Steve, how do you think [Chris Paul’s] emotion, not motion, his emotion fits in with this particular group?

Well, I think he's the perfect fit for us right now, because frankly, I think we need his leadership. I think we needed a guiding force for this group. I think our team was so young last year, and obviously, you know, never really got it going. I think we put up a pretty good fight in the playoffs, but never really found our groove. Coming into this season, I think Mike Dunleavy and his staff, I think they recognize that we needed more veteran leadership and between Chris and Dario Saric and Corey Joseph, we added three incredible professional and really really good players and obviously Chris is a Hall of Famer but Dario is a terrific player, Corey's been a rock-solid point guard in this league for almost a decade so it just feels like this this group is more balanced and more capable of getting off to a good start establishing something early and building some momentum.

Steph Curry and Chris Paul’s relationship

What do you see about the on-court interaction between the two of them [Steph Curry and Chris Paul]?

Well I think you know timing is everything in the NBA and I think if this were five years ago this probably wouldn't have made sense for Chris and Steph to play together but it makes sense now. Chris is at the tail end of his career, Steph is you know on the back nine for sure maybe the back five or six. They need each other right now and they're collaborating.

They were really good friends early on in their careers you know both being from North Carolina. I know Chris was a mentor of sorts for Steph early on and then they were rivals for a decade but I feel like that's all easily put behind them because there's so much respect for each other and they're both still so good at what they do and they recognize they can help each other. So every day has been fun to watch. They work out together. They're hanging out. They enjoy each other's company. It really is a great great fit.

The role of the rookies

TJD and Podziemski have had interesting pre-seasons. What kind of a role do you project for them this year?

Well, I think it's too early to tell, guys, but I can tell you, we really like both of them. They both have kind of an innate feel for the game.

Brandin is tough. He believes in himself. He makes plays. He is one of those guys who's always on the right spot, making the deflection or getting the cut for the layup, making the right pass. He has a great feel.

And I think Tray played 125 games in college at Indiana. And that's so rare these days. Most rookies come in, you know, like our recent ones, like JK, like Moses, like James Wiseman, you know, 19, you know, barely any experience. And there's so much to learn. These two guys this year, these rookies, they're much further along than our rookies in recent years because of the experience they have and just the feel that they've shown. So it's exciting.

I think we have depth. I think if we have some injuries, you know, I'm not going to hesitate to play any of those young guys. They can all help us win.

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GAME DETAILS

WHEN: 2023-10-27 7:00 PM Pacific
WHO: Golden State Warriors at Sacramento
WATCH: NBCSN Bay Area, ESPN

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