Dub Hub: Steve Kerr becomes Warriors’ winningest coach with 558th victory

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, March 17th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steve Kerr passes Al Attles to become the winningest head coach in Warriors’ history.
• Jimmy Butler explains his lack of scoring after 11-point performance in Saturday’s 97-94 win vs. Knicks.
• Cavaliers’ 16-game winning streak comes to an end after 108-103 loss to the Magic.

The Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks in a gritty 97-94 win on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to seven games and pushing their record to a season-high 11 games above .500. While the victory itself was significant in the team’s push for playoff positioning, it also marked a historic milestone: Steve Kerr officially became the winningest head coach in Warriors franchise history with his 558th career victory, surpassing Hall of Famer Al Attles.

Kerr, who took over as head coach in 2014, now has a regular season record of 558-302. Attles, the previous record-holder, was 557-518 during his 14-year coaching career with Golden State, leading the team to their first NBA title in 1975 and becoming a beloved figure in franchise history.

After the game, Wilhelmina Attles, the wife of the late Warriors legend, presented Kerr with the game ball in an emotional moment.

Kerr expressed gratitude toward the Attles family and the Warriors organization during his postgame press conference. The milestone victory is another accolade in his illustrious career, and with the Warriors surging at the right time, he may not be done adding to his legacy just yet.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, March 17th:

Warriors News:

Steve Kerr passes Al Attles as Warriors’ winningest coach | ESPN

Draymond Green and Curry praised Kerr for starting the Warriors’ winning culture.

“Oh, man, he changed everything,” Green said. “He has been as important as anybody, what this organization has become. Just the things that he’s taught me about winning ... you can’t teach someone anything better than that, how to be a better winner. And just his temperament, the offense that he brought to this organization, the atmosphere that he brought to this organization, the family atmosphere. That was Steve bringing that.”

Five observations: Warriors crank up defense and beat Knicks for 7th straight win | The Athletic

In the 16 games since Jimmy Butler’s arrival, a small but not insignificant statistical sample, the Warriors have the NBA’s second-best defensive rating (107.9). They are using their length, speed, muscle and strategical acumen to shut down opponents (during a soft portion of the schedule) without a traditional rim protector.

“Most championship contending teams are top 10 in both (offense and defense),” Curry said. “No matter what style, you should have the results. We have some tough lineups we can throw out there defensively down the stretch. Take myself out of it, but you have GP, Jimmy, Draymond, Moses has really been an amazing point-of-attack defender. Pick your poison with those four guys and I have to do my job.”

Jimmy Butler on scoring: “When it’s my time, you’ll know it’s my time”

Dray knew he would have ‘field day’ vs. Valančiūnas in Warriors-Kings | NBC Sports Bay Area

“And, A, they have Valančiūnas on me, which I knew — I told DeMar [DeRozan], I said, ‘Y’all got him on me very early in the game.’ I told DeMar, ‘If y’all got him on me, I’m [going to] have a field day’ because [Valančiūnas] can’t move well enough. I’m in pretty good shape right now. He can’t move well enough to keep up or guard the screen-and-roll or help in the paint, because they’re top locking Steph [Curry], right?

Steve Kerr’s update on Brandin Podziemski prior to Saturday’s game vs. the Knicks

NBA News:

Magic end Cavaliers’ franchise-best win streak at 16 games | ESPN

Sunday’s loss was Hunter’s first with the Cavaliers since he was acquired from the Hawks at the trade deadline last month. Cleveland had won all 13 games in which he appeared.

Cleveland’s 16-game winning streak was the longest in franchise history. Atkinson wouldn’t call the loss a wake up call for his team but did say it should help them on their upcoming road trip.

Anthony Davis to practice with Mavericks’ G-League affiliate Texas Legends

Lakers’ LeBron James expected out at least one more week, per ESPN’s Shams Charania

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

On the timely revival of Draymond Green and the Warriors’ defense

While everyone did their part in the possession below, pay particular attention to Draymond Green and Moses Moody — defending Josh Hart and Bridges, respectively. When Moody falls behind on his screen navigation against Bridges, Green steps up to close the space and switch, with Moody falling back to “peel” switch onto Hart. This combination of maneuvers instantaneously closes the momentary hole created by the Knicks

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.