Jay GreesonThe story lines of these NBA Finals have been incredible.
The injuries of the Cavaliers; the lengthy title drought for the Warriors; the fact the Cavs have never won a title. The legacy of LeBron James. The emergence of the best-shooting teammates in memory in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Add in two overtime games that the teams split and James pushing all his chips to the middle, and the intrigue is high heading into tonight's Game 3.
James is averaging 48 minutes, 41.5 points, 12 rebounds and 8.5 assists through the first two games. Sure, he is shooting roughly the same percentage as Stevie Wonder at a carnival booth, but dude is embracing the challenge.
Will it be enough over the long haul? Probably not considering the absence of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
That said, here's saying that if the Warriors win, it likely will be because of one of the most underrated strengths. Coach Steve Kerr is among the brightest basketball minds of his generation.
That was true before this season. It has been magnified by this season.
Consider this: We are watching Kerr's first season as a coach at any level, and he is three wins from bringing an NBA title to Golden State, for Pete's sake. Golden State.
He moved pieces and limited minutes of two former All-Stars in David Lee and Andre Iguodala. He accentuated Draymond Green's role. He has challenged and stroked and pulled the best from Harrison Barnes. He has flashed limitless green lights for Thompson and Curry.
This team has his fingerprints all over it, and while coaching may be less important in the NBA than any of the big three leagues, Kerr's role can't be overstated.
It also can't be much of a surprise. Kerr has enjoyed a ton of success at every level and angle of basketball.
He made himself a star at Arizona, a lightly recruited prospect - not unlike his star Curry - who helped turn the Wildcats into a national program.
He was shaped and hardened by the assassination of his father by terrorists, but he rarely speaks of it.
He had a 15-year NBA playing career that included five championships and is still the all-time leader in 3-point percentage. There have been 10 NBA teams to win 67 or more games in a season; Kerr has been a part of three of them - two as a player and this year as a coach.
He had one stint as a general manager with Phoenix and became one of the game's most-respected analysts.
In fact, Kerr's true basketball value and greatness in the moment may be simply put this way: In the 1997 Finals, Michael Jordan passed the ball to Kerr for the shot to win Game 6 and the championship. Think about that. Michael Jordan, the most competitive athlete in the history of sports, was willing to trust Kerr with everything on the line.
There were questions about whether Kerr was ready to be a head coach, but those close to him scoff at that notion. He was approached multiple times over the years, but in part because of the loss of his father, Kerr waited until his kids were older before committing to the extended grind of coaching an NBA team.
So here he is, the guy who made himself a player and has earned high praise at every level, on the cusp of breaking through the glass ceiling in his first crack.
It's an overnight-success story a basketball lifetime in the making. It's a fairytale that in part was born from tragedy more than 30 years ago.
And it's hard to bet against him, even with James on the other end.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @jgreesontfp. You can read his online column "The 5-at-10" Monday through Friday at timesfreepress.com after 10 a.m.