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Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors team he coaches might have beaten LeBron James in the last two NBA Finals, but they have also seen the amazing things the new Los Angeles Lakers superstar can do up close, like when he brought the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, the first team ever to do so.
With experiences like that while going against James, it would seem like Kerr and the Warriors probably aren’t thrilled at the prospect of going up against him at least four times a year before the playoffs even start now that both sides are in the Pacific Division, and that’s without even considering the pressure that will come with a first round of semifinals playoff matchup against James and the Lakers.
Now, the Warriors will undoubtedly still be the heavy favorites in any potential playoff showdown with Los Angeles, but Kerr said he isn’t even thinking that far ahead yet anyway (via Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN):
Does James’ new home give the Dubs any reason to doubt?
”I am not going to give that any thought because I got my own team to worry about,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Kerr isn’t wrong about that. The Warriors’ own free agent addition of DeMarcus Cousins may have led to fans and many around the league crying that competitive balance was dead forever, but as a coach, Kerr can’t think that way. He has to focus on things that could be potential internal roadblocks to a title, and the biggest one would be his own team not being on the same page, which is probably what he’s most focused on right now as training camps haven’t even started yet and with so many new players on his roster.
If the Lakers’ live up to their own prolific potential, then there will be a time when Kerr will have to worry about making sure there is no way James and another crew of underdogs can upset them again. But the Lakers still have a lot to prove before things get to that point.
You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.