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SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr “loved” the back-and-forth between Yaxel Lendeborg and Luka Doncic on opening night. He had other bones to pick with the Warriors’ rookie’s debut.
Doncic went off for 28 points while the Lakers handed Golden State a blowout loss Wednesday night, but that didn’t stop Lendeborg from continuing his war of words afterward.
Besides saying that he “lost all respect” for the Lakers superstar for his “whining” to the refs, Lendeborg touted his individual defense on Doncic. He said that he told Doncic that he couldn’t score on him, and the stats backed that up to a degree, holding him to 1-of-5 in their matchups.
That’s where Kerr took issue with the rookie running his mouth.
“Who the eff cares?” Kerr said of the one-on-one matchup. “He did a good job on Luka 1-on-1, but we got torched by Luka as a team. I don’t care. … It’s like, they scored 120 on us. That stuff’s all bulls–t. It’s our defense. He knows that. I talked to him the other day. Our defense was not good regardless of him individually when he guarded the ball.”
Lendeborg finished with 12 points, four personal fouls and one technical in 29 minutes. He has another emotionally charged matchup Friday in the Warriors’ home opener against the Grizzlies.
It will be the first NBA showdown between Lendeborg and the No. 3 overall pick out of Duke, Cameron Boozer, which the Michigan man drafted eight slots later said he circled on his calendar. But Kerr wasn’t too concerned about the rookie’s mindset.
He had more concrete feedback from Lendeborg’s NBA debut.
“He’s a little bit of a coaster,” Kerr said. “I want to see him run the floor harder. I think that will open up a lot of opportunities. He’s so skilled and big that if we get him to run the court — both ways — a little harder, a little faster, he’s going to end up finding the ball more and be more of a threat.”
Kerr agreed with Steph Curry that Lendeborg will have to back up his talking with his play on the court. He won’t have to wait long before he sees Doncic again.
The Lakers visit Chase Center next Friday, and Lendeborg is sure to have a target on his back.
“I love the young guy. He’s really talented. I love his competitiveness,” Kerr said. “Like I said, I didn’t mind the stuff the other day. But as Steph said, you’ve got to back it up. That’s the thing.
“We play the Lakers again next week, so, OK, here you go.”