Steve Kerr: Warriors Have 'More of a Sense of Urgency' for Game 3 vs. Rockets

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said his team has "more of a sense of urgency right away" in the team's second-round series against the Houston Rockets.

"Obviously, that Clippers series, Game 2 changed the entire series—31-point lead, and we blow it and we lose a game," he added, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. "Now it's all different. We did a great job of getting off to the right start in Oakland—winning two, but playing hard throughout. So we're in a good position, but there's a long way to go, and we know that."

The Warriors surprisingly dropped two games in their opening-round series against the Clippers, a team they were expected to sweep. But as Kevin Durant noted, the team's history with the Rockets—who they beat in seven games in last year's Western Conference Finals—has changed the level of intensity.

"We respected the Clippers, for sure. Definitely don't wanna put it that way. But we respect this team just 'cause we've played 'em before. We went seven games with 'em. So that level of respect and the level of knowledge about this team goes to another level when we play 'em. So yeah, we're more locked in 'cause we know this team can beat us."

So far, so good for the Warriors, who are up 2-0 heading into Saturday's Game 3 in Houston. That's a good sign for the Warriors, who often drifted through the regular season, perhaps confident in their otherworldly collection of talent and a resume that includes three titles in the past four seasons and two in a row with Durant on the squad. 

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets - Game Highlights

The Rockets, however, are Golden State's biggest threat in the West, led by the unguardable MVP candidate James Harden alongside Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and a threatening Rockets supporting cast. There's an argument to be made that Houston isn't as good as a year ago when it had solid defenders on the wing in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute.   

But the Warriors aren't taking anything for granted against Houston.

"The first two games against Houston, we understood how important it was to take care of home court, considering how bad it had been for a while, and were able to do that," Steph Curry noted. "It wasn't pretty at times, but we got two wins and that's all that matters.

He added:

"Coming into Game 3, I think the conversation was around that first quarter, first half, where we know how hard they're gonna play and—y'all know who the pressure's on, but it's gonna be a high-intensity type of environment; we gotta be able to handle that and get off to a great start, and continue to build off that momentum, like I said. So this is a great opportunity for us to have a sense of urgency when it comes to the task at hand."

The Warriors are in the driver's seat. But they're fully aware the Rockets are more than capable of swinging the momentum back in their favor quickly.