With Steve Kerr having taken an indefinite leave of absence as he recovers from a spinal leak that was caused by back surgery, the Golden State Warriors are set to begin the season with Luke Walton at the helm. If that is the case, the defending champs will begin a season with their third head coach in as many seasons.
Kerr won the NBA Finals in his first season as an NBA head coach and finished second in the voting for Coach of the Year. He coached the Warriors to a franchise-record 67 wins, making them the winningest team in the NBA in 2014-2015. Kerr was certainly a conductor of their success, but Alvin Gentry was the real mastermind behind the Warriors' offensive dominance.
Gentry, now the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, created great team basketball led by stout fundamentals, such as exceptional ball movement. So while Kerr's absence is certainly a blow to the ribs, it is ultimately a double-whammy with Gentry being gone. The Warriors are all but guaranteed to begin the season without their head coach and lead assistant coach from their championship season. Ironically, the season opener and banner night in Golden State will be against Gentry and the Pelicans.
Walton, who has never coached an NBA game, was on the Warriors' staff last season and went to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2009 and 2010 as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers. At 35 years-old, he will become-at least briefly-the youngest head coach in the NBA. Once Kerr returns, Walton will be by his side as a lead assistant coach.
In a player's league, the 2015 MVP Stephen Curry and his boys will have last year's experience to thrive off of in 2015-2016. Not to understate the value of a coach, it is the players who put the ball in the hoop and the Warriors are the best team in basketball at doing so. The Splash Bros, Curry and Klay Thompson, were magnificent last season.
While Curry stole the show in the postseason, he and Thompson seemed to flip a coin for who goes off on nights during the regular season. Thompson dropped 52 on January 23rd, while Curry tallied 11 assists and 10 points. Then, on the fourth of February, Curry deposited 51, while Thompson took a "backseat" and scored 18. At the end of the day, both averaged over 20 points-per-game during the 2014-2015 regular season.
But this is not to forget NBA Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala and defensive specialist Draymond Green. Green elevated his play in the playoffs, averaging 13.7 points-per-game and 10.1 rebounds-per-game. His defensive effort does not appear on any stat sheet, but the 25 year-old locked down the forwards of the Cleveland Cavaliers in The Finals.
Iguodala did the same, finding himself in the starting lineup on the biggest stage without starting a single regular season game in 2014-2015. Iguodala's defense was stellar and he, too, averaged double figures in points. With David Lee traded, it will be Iguodala's leadership that will be key without Kerr.
Even without their head coach, the Warriors appear poised to make another deep playoff run. It appears that Kerr's absence could, in fact, be shorter than longer, but the defending champs will no-doubt play their tails off for their head coach while he recovers to full health.