Steve Kerr: Today’s NBA Players Lacking In The Very Basics Of The Game

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr showed his displeasure with what he perceives as a lack of fundamentals in the NBA today.

CBS Sports reports the head coach expressed his displeasure after the Warriors' 126-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, where his team was outrebounded 57-34. 

"This is the modern NBA; guys don't box out. It's just the way it is," Kerr said, via ESPN. "Every night on League Pass, I see the same thing. Players let guys come in from the weak side, and they think, 'I'll just get the rebound.' It's a disease that's rampant in the NBA. The problem is, if you're a real small team like us, then it's going to hurt you more than it will hurt other teams."

Kerr said the lack of fundamentals is a direct result of the lack of experience and a lack of discipline. 

"Most of these guys didn't have a high school and college coach yelling at them for a combined eight straight years," Kerr said, per CBS Sports. "It's a different world today. And players grow up in a different way in terms of their basketball background. The detail is often the thing that is lacking."  

Although Kerr made it clear his concerns aren't related to the players' skills, he said somewhere along the way the fundamentals took a backseat to the skills, in his opinion.

"Players have never had more skill than they have today in my mind," Kerr said. "I'm amazed by the skill level. But the little things, getting back in transition — every night on TV, I see teams let a guy run past them in transition for a layup," he said. "We do it; every team does it. If you did that 25 years ago, your coach would take you out and he wouldn't play you again. Now everybody does it, and as a coach, you can't take everybody out. So there are certain parts of the game that are just different; players aren't as locked in on those things. I think just because it's a different time."