Draymond Green Told Steve Kerr To Stop Looking Like ‘Somebody Died’ Every Time The Warriors Turn The Ball Over

Despite owning the NBA’s second-best record at 6-1, the Golden State Warriors rank 25th in turnover rate (14.5 percent) this season, much to the dismay of head coach Steve Kerr.

During the first quarter of their win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Kerr said he “was so disgusted with (the team’s) play that he was pouting and (his) body language was terrible.” Draymond Green noticed this from Kerr and told his coach about it.

“I was kind of embarrassed,” Kerr said. “I was like, ‘You know what? You’re right.’ After all the turnovers, I’m just sitting there like, ‘Fine, fine, whatever,’ acting like they were on their own out there. It was not my best moment as a coach. It was great for Draymond to remind me they need my energy too.”

Friday morning, Green followed up Kerr’s post-game comments by illuminating his own perspective on the topic. Green said he thinks when coaches animatedly react to turnovers, it leads players to become more hesitant to make passes. By the time they decide to pass, the window has closed and more giveaways are the result — exactly the dynamic he saw play out Wednesday night.

“To me, it started to look like guys were turning the ball over trying not to turn the ball over,” he said. “I just went up to (Kerr) and said, ‘Coach, we need your body language. … We look over to the bench and it looks like somebody died over here. It’s deflating.’

“And he’s like, ‘Well, I’m trying to stick with you guys. What am I supposed to do about the turnovers?’ I said, ‘Coach, if you want to, cuss us out.’ He said, ‘I did that.’ I said, ‘Well, keep going. But if you keep dropping your head, it’s killing us.’ … His energy changed like that, and our energy changed like that.”

Despite trailing at the end of the first quarter, Golden State would go on to beat Charlotte, 114-92.