Warriors pregame from Charlotte: fast-paced, elite passing of Steph/LaMelo

Borrego and Kerr dish some knowledge

Here are the notes & quotes from pregame Warriors-Hornets from Jeff Borrego and Steve Kerr. Please check our YouTube channel for the snippets as they get uploaded as fast as we can do them…

VIDEOS (Borrego and Kerr notes below this):

BORREGO:

- long layoff: “sloppy poor execution poor spacing led to turnovers…let’s be sharper tonight…shot quality.…we should have fresh legs.”

- LaMelo elite vision: “I saw it on film…he made the simple play, he made the spectacular play and all those in between…until you get him in your gym you’re not really sure how he’ll fit into your group…third or fourth practice…he started making these plays…hitting guys before they actually see it…elite passers and playmakers can make these passes and reads on all three levels…(explained)…first read…middle-tier read…midrange area…and then you have the top tier, now I get to the rim area…when a big guy (challenges)…ability to wrap it…skip it.”

- Gordon Hayward available? “Yes sir”

- Steph and Oubre: “It starts with Curry, he’s the head of the snake…he’s given me nightmares over the years, scouting…Oubre…had his imprint all over the game last night…recently he’s really started to take off…and Wiggins as well…these guys are loaded…they’re never out of a game…that’s the firepower they have…sit down and guard for 48 minutes.”

- push the pace, early O: “shot quality…first 7-8 seconds of a possession…how do we get to the paint, how do we get downhill…don’t wanna come down and walk it up every set…from there it’s about spraying and moving the ball and sharing it.”

- GSW 1-7 vs teams that score 124 points (ORL): “I’d live to get to 124 every single. They’re a very good defense…we’re fourth right now in shots in the first 7 seconds…line of scrimmage…that’s what will allow us to get to 122…pace, pressure on the rim, a ability to spray the ball…get out and run…our defense had a bad quarter and it affected our offense (vs Spurs)…we gotta get stops.”

- rotation, 7/12 games/nights: “we head West tomorrow…(will see how the game goes)…not having Devonte…changes our rotation…bringing PJ back…we could go ten deep tonight…don’t overrun Gordon/Terry.”

STEVE KERR:

- game tape: “Orlando played extremely well…we weren’t able to get stops…offensively the tape confirmed…we just had too many possessions where we went one pass and a shot…we didn’t deserve to win.”

- CHA: “tonight could be a really entertaining game with the pace that both teams like to play…going  good to great with our shot selection, can’t turn it into a complete track meet…get back in transition.”

- LaMelo elite passing: “that was the one thing that you could for sure identify in the pre-Draft process…his shooting has proven to be much better…35% on threes…much more solid fundamentally than he did last year in Australia…the energy…he’s fearless…huge part of them building this identity that they’ve built already…gonna be a great player.”

- elite vs good passer: “Touch and anticipation…ball comes off his fingers it just looks softer…good timing.”

- playing at home Steph: “couple years ago Bruce Fraser told me during the warmups Steph had five or six people…that was my barber…ice cream shop…Steph knew everybody…definitely a special game for him.”

- teams guarding him (MIA and ORL): “just the ebbs and flows from the season, not to take anything away from Miami and Orlando…had some good looks and they didn’t go…never lets a couple bad shooting nights affect him…gets right back on the horse.”

- bummer missing special locations to practice: “meet a lot of people, see college teams, meet the players.”

- Charlotte energy: “travel was easy last night…we should be rested and ready to go.”

- Borrego/Pop: “maybe a few actions that you see…every coach has his own style.”

- expectations, defense: “we’ve been a very good defensive team…Orlando hit some tough shots, but we needed our offense to help our defense…better balance…more thoughtful offense…create great shots.”

- Looney/Wiseman: “real possibility (to play at NYK)…they’re gonna be out on the court before our guys get to shoot…they did (3-on-3) last night…Monday we’ll have a practice in New York…definite answer by Monday.”

- like condensed: “a lot better than four in five nights…got rid of them…getting the extra day in between…definitely good for our players.”

- no schedule rest of season yet: “trying to plan All-Star Break…when guys have to be back in town.”

- outdoor games (PHX Coachella): “I would not (want to have an outdoor game)…we played the Warriors, Steph’s rookie year…temperature dropped about twenty degrees right about halftime…I was yelling from the stands to get the starters out…basketball is meant to be played indoors.”

- replay tonight? “Hopefully nobody falls through the ice.”

- had 3 games PHX outdoors: “Did three games with Dick Enberg…nobody could make a three point shot…I actually did the game with my sunglasses on.”

- home court advantage: “not having the energy of the home crowd, OTOH the travel has gotten more difficult. Fewer shootarounds because of testing…you go into some games not feeling as good…(but) it’s a two-way street…different teams have different circumstances…Hornets six days off.”

- rotation, G League: “we always give everybody consideration, it just depends on how we’re playing.”

- Poole: “he’s been good…aggressive…experience itself, for him to feel the daily ritual of playing 30+ minutes and going through the ups and downs within that…how you maintain your poise…we know he can score, we know he can shoot.”

/end