Steve Kerr: Warriors' Identity 'Back-to-Back Champions' After Game 5 Loss
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr apparently isn't too worried about the identity of his team even after Wednesday's 129-121 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
"What's our identity? Back-to-back champions," he said, per Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area. "I don't know; we're really good. I mean we're hanging banners."
It's hard to argue with his assessment, as this Warriors team has established itself as a modern-day dynasty with championships in three of the last four years. It also won an NBA-record 73 games in the one season it didn't lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy during that span.
Still, Golden State has not played like a dynasty during this series with the eighth-seeded Clippers.
It blew a 31-point lead at home in Game 2 by allowing 85 points in the second half alone. It also failed to make a critical stop in crunch time of Wednesday's loss and watched Lou Williams score eight straight points in the final three minutes after the Clippers fell behind by one to clinch the win.
He was brilliant off the bench with 33 points and 10 assists and outshined future Hall of Famers in Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant with the game on the line.
A 45-point performance from Durant and 46 combined points from Curry and Klay Thompson is typically enough for the Warriors to win, but their defense has proved vulnerable throughout this series.
It is fair to wonder whether the defense that has struggled with the likes of Williams and Montrezl Harrell in this series will be up to the task of dealing with James Harden and the Houston Rockets in the second round.
If it isn't, the Warriors will quickly lose that identity Kerr mentioned.
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