Warriors vs. Thunder: Kevin Durant Agrees With Coach Kerr About Slow Start

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admits that he is prepared for a slow start to the 2018-19 NBA season for the reigning champions owing to some injury and tactical concerns.

The back-to-back NBA champions are the favorites to win their third straight title in 2019, but have not had the best pre-season. The Warriors won just one of their five games which includes back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kerr’s side begin their campaign on Tuesday night when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Oracle Arena. They are the dominant force in the NBA at the moment with every team gunning to knock them off their perch.

The Warrior’s coach, however, warned against expecting his team to be at their best right from the start. Kerr expects his team to get better as the season progresses and admits that a number of the younger players will get opportunities at the start of the campaign.

Shaun Livingston remains questionable for the game against Thunder, while Draymond Green is also unlikely to play too many minutes. The coach revealed that he is not at his best in terms of strength and conditioning going into the new season.

"We're not in perfect shape," Kerr told reporters Monday, as quoted on Yahoo Sports. "Shaun [Livingston] is questionable. Draymond [Green] only played one and a half games I think and needs more conditioning. So we've got some young guys we're going to count on."

"Camp was great, but we had a let-up last week defensively. We're trying to address those mistakes that we made and we'll see where we are [on Tuesday],” the Warriors coach explained.

"I don't anticipate that we're going to be in high gear right away. We're not going to be nearly as good tomorrow as we will be down the road."

Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant agrees with his coach that the team will use the start of the season to ensure they are well prepared for the later part of the campaign in terms of cohesion and fitness.

The Warriors small forward, who played a key role in them dominating the last two seasons, wants the team to play at their best every time they take the court, but is aware that it will not be possible at the moment. He made it clear that their target is to be in top gear when the playoffs come around in 2019.

"Obviously, you want to play a good brand of ball every time you step out, but you also try to start seeing how deep your rotation is, because we’re preparing for the playoffs,” Durant said.

"We trust coach's adjustments and anything he throws at us we try to handle as best as possible,” the double NBA champion added.

The ring and banner celebration will take place at the Oracle Arena prior to the game against the Thunder and Kerr is hoping that his team can switch from “celebration mode” to “competitive mode” without too much problem.

"You have to make that transition from celebrating to competing just like that. Fortunately, we've been through it a couple of times and hopefully, we'll adapt quickly and get into the flow of the game,” Kerr said.