Steve Kerr: Warriors, Rockets differ
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr would like Stephen Curry to win the MVP award, but his focus is elsewhere as his team enters the stretch.
"I care. I'd like for Steph to win the MVP, and I think he deserves it," Kerr said Thursday after practice.
However, Kerr said, "I don't think it's our job to promote it," and drew a distinction between the Warriors' approach and that of the Houston Rockets. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has publicly supported James Harden's MVP campaign, actively promoting it on Twitter and in other venues.
"We're trying to win games. We've got a lot of work to do," Kerr said Thursday. "So, if Daryl Morey wants to run his own one-man campaign for James Harden, he can do that. That's fine. But we're focused on other stuff."
Morey responded later Thursday on "The Dan Le Batard Show" on ESPN Radio when told of Kerr's comments.
"I would say that myself and James are only focused on winning the championship, so I think that's a bit of a straw-man argument he set up," Morey said.
Currently, Curry and Harden are the two most likely MVP award recipients, according to the Bovada Sportsbook. Curry's odds are listed at 1-2, and Harden's are at 1-3. Entering Thursday, the Warriors have the West's leading record at 47-12, and the Rockets are in fourth place at 41-20.
"[Harden has] generated more wins than any player in the league by a huge margin," Morey told ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh last weekend during the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
"For our team, he's the engine that makes us go. In terms of his scoring, obviously he's leading the league in scoring, but it's efficient scoring, it's not like he's taking a lot of shots to get there. He's generating the most points off his passes as well. So he's the engine that makes us go, and this year, for anybody who has analyzed it, his defense is way improved. So he's a two-way player leading us to third in the West, and we've been climbing and fourth in the league overall."
