SAN ANTONIO – Steve Kerr is going to be a coach someday, maybe as soon as next season, maybe by the side of Phil Jackson in L.A.
Like David Robinson, Kerr could go out as an NBA champion. If last night was his final game, it would be tough to duplicate the magic he showed in Game 5 at the Meadowlands.
It was not as dominating as the four 3-pointers he drained on the Mavericks in the fourth quarter of the clinching Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. But it was reminiscent of that banner night. He came off the bench during Game 5 cold and rusty, making two huge shots and a steal, carrying the Spurs to their biggest win of the series and leading them back to San Antonio with a 3-2 series edge – one win away from Kerr’s fifth championship ring.
“He’s the consummate pro,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who must be wondering why he hasn’t used Kerr more in a series in which both teams have set offense back to the peach-basket days.
Kerr is the anti-Mutombo, never complaining about minutes. Kerr had played less than a minute in the series before Popovich turned to him with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter Friday. His heroics in Dallas apparently did not sway Popovich’s opinion that Kerr be used only in desperation. But Friday, with Manu Ginobili in foul trouble and Stephen Jackson shooting 33 percent in the series, Kerr finally got the call.
“He’s been just incredible,” Tim Duncan said of Kerr. “He doesn’t play for games in a row and then his number is called and he’s always ready. As you know he shoots the ball incredibly.”
It was the exact six-year anniversary of his heroics in Game 6 of the 1997 Finals as a member of the Bulls. Kerr hit a 17-footer with five seconds left that snapped an 86-86 tie against the Jazz and gave the Bulls their fifth title in seven years.
On Friday, Kerr’s 3-pointer from the right wing – spawned by a double on Duncan – catapulted the Spurs’ lead to seven points, 83-76, with 3:02 remaining, the dagger of the night, maybe the series.
He hit another – just a two-pointer, but more impressive. The 37-year-old Kerr created his own shot against Jason Kidd, arguably the league’s best backcourt defender. Kerr dribbled right on Kidd, then zigzagged left, pulling up at the left of the lane, creating enough space to sink a 12-footer.
This all couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, regarded as the one of the most cooperative players to the media. “I’ve got the greatest job on Earth,” Kerr said. “I come in, play like six minutes, make a couple of shots and then I come to interviews in the interview room.”
Kerr is looking for his second ring with San Antonio in his second stint (he left for Portland for one season last year). Kerr has spoken about retirement and the Spurs have shown interest in keeping him next season as a player/coach. For sure, he has shown he can still play.
