One of the first things that comes to mind for me when thinking about this solid, stylistically fascinating Finals matchup is the coaches. More specifically, first-year coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics seem to be largely following the footsteps of Steve Kerr and the 2014–15 Warriors, who won the NBA title in Kerr’s first season at the helm.
Like most of the coaches who made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs, Kerr and Udoka played for—and, at one point or another, coached under—Gregg Popovich, who now stands as the winningest coach in league history. Their time with Popovich presumably instilled the overarching importance of good, selfless ball movement within a team’s offense.
For Kerr, that meant preaching the importance of passing the ball more and perpetual movement—even if it wasn’t stemming from the basic pick-and-roll that so many teams use from one play to the next. The Klay post-ups that had been such a staple under Mark Jackson quickly faded in Kerr’s offense, which saw the Dubs jump from last, with 243.8 passes per game in 2013-14, to ninth in the association, with 306.6 passes per night the following year.
