• Steve Kerr at Dallas practice on Klay in mentoring role: “he hasn’t had to play that role. When I first got here he was one of the younger guys and we’ve always had vets. The last couple years he’s advanced into a different stage… elder statesman… two serious injuries… last couple months he’s grown more comfortable… do the right thing as a vet leader.”
• On the wild standings: “It’s fun. We’d rather not… Every one of them is crucial… it’s almost like we’ve started the playoffs… fight to the end… everything is a possibility. We could finish in the top six, four or five more can say the same thing, or we could finish eleventh… afaik unprecedented.”
• On if it’s harder to win fifty games: “Some of it is injury related… some of it is just parity… maybe some surprises in there… Utah… OKC… a lot of teams bunched together… the parity has been unprecedented in our conference.”
• On the SMU practice facility: “great spot… place for us to work.”
• On dunking, status symbol for younger players and later a physical toll, as a coach: “Number one, I never dunked as a player… I have no experience with it… you do see players as they get older maybe tone it back… aware of the physical toll… amazing the athleticism and leaping ability… and then they get in five or six years… I’m the wrong guy to ask.”
• On Klay dunking his first basket back: “a statement to himself and to the fans and to the league… that dunk meant something to him… I’m back… Klay’s not exactly the dunking sort… he sneaks in a dunk or two occasionally.”
NOTE: From Golden State Warriors practice, day before Dallas Mavericks, held at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. WE WILL GO LIVE WITH GSW-DAL ON WED 3/22 AT 5:00PM TIPOFF.