“LeBron James and the Lakers End Steve Kerr’s Unbeaten Streak Against Western Teams in Playoffs”

Since joining the franchise in 2014, Steve Kerr had never lost a Playoff series to a Western team. It is now done thanks to the Lakers of LeBron James.

Last night’s loss to the Lakers had many repercussions for the Warriors. There is the elimination of course, first consequence, the specter of the end of the dynasty because of the contractual situation of Draymond Green and GM Bob Myers. There is also the end of a monstrous series for Steve Kerr. Since his appointment on the bench of the Dubs in 2014, and before this night, the tactician had never lost a series of Playoffs against a team from the West. We did it again: HE HAD NEVER LOST A PLAYOFF SERIES AGAINST A TEAM FROM THE WEST. 9 seasons between Oakland and San Francisco, 7 Playoff qualifications and 6 NBA Finals (including 4 titles).

The Lakers handed the Warriors their first playoff series loss outside of the NBA Finals under Steve Kerr.

Wild 😳 pic.twitter.com/8ZsNu120ZL

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 13, 2023

Against the Western teams, we were just talking about 19 series won in a row! And it’s not like the Dubs faced cardboard teams. The Thunder of Kevin Durant, the Spurs with Kawhi Leonard, the Rockets of James Harden and Chris Paul, Luka Doncic and the Mavs, there have been quality opponents to send on vacation. It will therefore have been necessary to wait almost a decade to see Kerr not rhyme Playoffs with NBA Finals.

Steve Kerr is now 19-1 in playoff series vs western conference teams

His first loss came tonight pic.twitter.com/aboAp2LyoO

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 13, 2023

As a symbol, it was one of his biggest rivals who ended his series: LeBron James. Of the three series lost by Kerr in the Playoffs (two NBA Finals and therefore this one), the King is present in two of them (like Tristan Thompson lol, who knows maybe it’s the Canadian who brings bad luck to the Warriors).

Does the end of the Warriors’ dominance in the West mark the end of a cycle in the Bay or not? Many questions arise about the future of certain executives (Green but also Poole and Thompson), we will have to see what the management’s decisions will be during the summer. Does the group leave intact with some adjustments around the role players? Can we see a big trade to offer more help to Stephen Curry in the quest for the title? And if so who would go? In short, the offseason promises to be hectic for Steve Kerr and his family.