Steve Kerr on championship run: 'We don't really feel like we have a rival' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors in the Play-In tournament last season in an overtime classic. This year, the teams meet again, now in the NBA Playoffs.

Golden State Warriors / Schedule

Denver Nuggets Golden State Warriors126-121 Golden State Warriors Denver Nuggets102-98 Memphis Grizzlies Golden State WarriorsSun19:30 Memphis Grizzlies Golden State WarriorsWed01:30 Golden State Warriors Memphis Grizzlies05-0800:30

Is there a rivalry forming between the teams? The head coach of the Warriors Steve Kerr doesn't think so.

"I think rivalries are really formed in the playoffs. You sort of have to have a couple of meetings for the rivalry to form," the coach explained. "Whether you think back to Lakers-Celtics or Bulls-Pistons back in the late 80s or early 90s... For those of you that are younger, I might have to find a better analogy."

"We've played so many different teams in the playoffs now in the last 7 years, we don't really feel like we have a rival," Kerr told the media in a press conference. "We're just trying to continue to succeed in the playoffs and give ourselves the best chance to win."

"We've had a lot of success and it's great to be back after a 3-year absence," the coach was glad to be back after missing the grandest stage a couple of years.

"I don't think we look at this as a rivalry, we just look at Memphis as a rising young team that's really talented and it's going to be a great challenge to try and beat them," Kerr finished his statement.

The Grizzlies finished the season as the no. 2 seed in the Western Conference while the Warriors ended the regular season as no. 3. The first game of the series is scheduled today at 21:30 CET at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Full Steve Kerr press conference ahead of the game:

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