Jerry West: Golden State Warriors can get a lot better

The fact you and I never have seen a better shooter than Stephen Curry is not much of a conversation stopper.

The fact Jerry West never has seen a better shooter than Stephen Curry is profound enough to silence a Las Vegas dance club.

It only proves that no one, not even West, has seen it all. He just knows, better than anyone, exactly what he’s seeing.

He is a special adviser to Bob Myers, the former UCLA bench forward who is the general manager of the irresistible boy-band known as the Golden State Warriors.


“This is still a young team,” West said the other day. “What I love about them is their attitude and the way they love playing with each other. They realize they have a great opportunity. They can be a really good team for a long time.”

On Tuesday the Warriors played absentminded offense — “we’ve been playing sloppy for a while now” West said — but again got what they needed from Curry at the end and beat Toronto by five. Golden State thus is 12-0 going into Thursday night’s Staples Center match with the Clippers, which is definitely an unfriendly.





The Warriors might not be dynastic yet, even though they’ve won 95 games since Opening Night in 2014. But they could be historic. They won last year’s NBA title and never had to play a Game 7 in the playoffs. There are other numbers that add to the notion that this is the best team in pro sports right now.

West is 77 years old. Perhaps he never thought he’d see another Showtime, or a team with such righteous togetherness and such appealing charisma. He built Lakers championship teams but he couldn’t stand to watch them actually win championships. Now his name isn’t on the bottom of the picture.





“What people miss is how well these guys pass the ball,” West said. “It’s really not something you see very often. Most teams have at least one guy who is a ball-stopper on offense, but these guys look for each other. Steph will shoot it, of course, but he shoots it so quick and he shoots it from everywhere. There’s not a place on the floor you can take away.

“We also led the league in defense last year. We’ve got a 6-foot-6 1/2 power forward Draymond Green, who can guard almost any position. He understands how to take away angles and how to compete, and he’s incredibly valuable to us. He makes us run.”

Passing is being quantified in today’s NBA, just like every other movement and sweat drop. The Warriors are fifth in the league in passes per game. But they lead the league this season, and led it last season, in “secondary assists,” the pass that leads to the pass, like hockey. Seek an open shot and then seek something better, as you drag the defense in your wake.

“But I think our team can get a lot better,” West said.

For one thing, coach Steve Kerr is 0-0 this year as he battles back problems. Luke Walton is batting 1.000 in his place.





“The way Steve handles his job and represents this franchise to everyone ... I’m not sure anybody can do it better,” West said. “He’s an incredible communicator. Every player knows what is being asked of him. And if a player isn’t going to play the next game, Steve tells him ahead of time. He has a great feel for people.

“I think Steve took a lot out of his time in San Antonio with Gregg Popovich and also from his days with Phil (Jackson, in Chicago). You can see a lot of San Antonio in how he approaches everything he does.”





For another, fourth-year forward Harrison Barnes is tapping into the talent that made him the nation’s best high school player in Ames, Iowa. Barnes repeatedly called West and asked to work out with him during the summers, and the two met at West’s home in Bel Air. Now Barnes gives Golden State yet another runner, defender and fast-break finisher who also knows his way around the three.

“I don’t know what kind of player he’ll be,” West said. “But whatever he does, it won’t be because of lack of work ethic. He really seems to want it.”





The point differential says they all do. The Warriors beat their victims by an average of 15.3 points. That would shatter the all-time differential record of 12.3, set by the 1972 Lakers, featuring Jerry West.