Opinion: Let Steve Kerr do his job

The Warriors' three-game skid has left pundits questioning Steve Kerr's tactics. (photo by Rob Carr)

By Connor Buestad | connor@section925.com

At some point, we as Warriors fans need to ask ourselves a simple question: What do we want from Steve Kerr? Because at this point, he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. 

After infamously losing hold of a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in last year's Finals, Kerr was chastised for running his team ragged over the course of the 82-game schedule. Talking heads declared it a fool's errand for Kerr to be so concerned with chasing history and eclipsing Michael Jordan's mark of 72-10, only to run out of gas come June. 

"If only he had gotten his guys some rest! The regular season doesn't mean a thing. Just have the boys ready for a deep playoff run," they grumbled. 

But of course here in 2017, the public is singing a different tune in regards to Kerr's management style. Things boiled over on Saturday night after the Warriors lost their third game in a row to fall to 52-14 on the year. Kerr made the executive decision to sit his starters for the entirety of the evening, leading to a 22-point drubbing at the hands of the second place Spurs. Sob stories poured in about fans who had paid "high-prices" for tickets only to see Steph and company recline court-side. Naysayers bickered endlessly about the fact that NBA players are making millions. And how it shouldn't be too much to ask to play 48 minutes of basketball following a charted flight.

Some of these are halfway valid points, depending on who you ask, but that doesn't change the fact that Steve Kerr is in charge of this show. He needs to make tough decisions in the blink of an eye. It is too much to ask him to balance the best interests of the NBA television contracts, the marketability of his stars, or the opinion of basketball fans at-large. Steve Kerr was hired to win championships, and he's doing his best to successfully complete that task.

If the NBA is going to send the Warriors zig-zaging across the lower 48 in search of the optimal ad revenue from their sponsors, it is Steve Kerr's duty to step in and do what is best for his team. The man has been around the league forever, as a championship player, a member of the front office, a broadcaster, and now as a championship coach. He knows what he's doing and that really shouldn't be disputed. If the league puts him between a rock and a hard place, Kerr is inevitably going to need to make some tough calls. He's going to need to play a hunch here and there, even if it means resting the lifeblood of his team at the end of a road swing in March.

Let Steve Kerr do his job and stay out of the way.