Douglas also said that the team devotes a lot of film study to improving defensively, and that playing good team defense is a mindset based in trust.
Trust is something the Golden State players have in their head coach. We all know that as a former player, Jackson was bound to be a player’s coach, but that doesn’t always translate into wins while being well-liked. Lee gushed about his ability to motivate players and the importance of having the ex-player’s perspective as well.
But that’s not what stands out to Lee the most.
“The most important thing he is, is he’s a guy that knows the game and he has no agenda but winning,” he said. “And when you have that as a coach, you’re going to make great decisions and everyone’s going to understand where you’re coming from.”
And with that agenda so tuned into winning games along with the players truly buying in, that inspires confidence as a coach. “Dude exudes confidence everywhere he goes, so you know he’s gonna be a great motivator,” Thompson said.
The players are even motivated to come to Jackson and get critiqued about their play. “We’ll be able to go over to him, you get ideas,” Douglas said. “If he sees things on film, he’ll tell us what we need to do. His door is always open. And that’s the great thing about having a coach like him.”
But just because Jackson is a player’s coach doesn’t mean he can’t be tough. “He gets it. He understands it. He demands respect,” Green said.
With that mutual respect the Warriors have between the coach and the players, there is that sense of unity and patience even when things went wrong like they did Wednesday against Brooklyn. After racing out to a 16-point third quarter lead, Golden State looked fatigued and gassed the rest of the way. Curry, Thompson and others could not get their legs under them on their jump shots, defensive switches weren’t as swift and crisp, and the Warriors fell by four. Jackson was disappointed in the result, but stayed on point and fully believed in the process.
“We know who we are as a basketball team, and we know when we play great and what we’ve done to put ourselves in the position to win,” Jackson said. “And we know when we make mistakes and are careless. So we don’t learn from it, we just get better. You move ahead, you make the proper corrections and look forward to take care of what we didn’t take care of tonight.”
As good as the Warriors have been this season, the team knows that everyone is still improving. And that’s the beauty of a team that’s contending in a wide-open Western Conference while simultaneously growing together.
“He continues to get better in different situations, just like we have to get better in situations as players,” Green said. “Every situation, I think he’s thrived in and he’s going to continue to get better and be a great coach in this league for a long time.”
Curry laid out the bottom line for how the team views Jackson. “He’s putting us in the position to be successful,” Curry said. “We love playing hard for him and going out there and try to execute the way he wants us to.”
Golden State’s players truly trust the direction the developing and evolving head coach is taking his team in, and that is generally a sign of good things to come.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for Sheridan Hoops who loves advanced statistics and the way they explain what happens on the court. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. His website is SprungOnSports.com. You should follow him on Twitter.