"I don't think they hand you the trophy based on morality. They give it to you if you win." That's the mantra Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr had in mind when he lied about his starting line up before Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.At Thursday morning's pregame press conference, Kerr was asked if center Andrew Bogut would start—and he flat out lied. His answer: "There would be no changes to the line up."But surely that's not what we saw when the game started. Bogut was replaced by Andre Iguodala. And it proved to be a winning move that helped the Warriors even the series at two games each. Iguodala chipped in with 22 points and defended LeBron James as well as anyone has in the finals.
Kerr's explanation for the bluff came later: "My options were tell the truth?' and I was asked both at shootaround and before the game. So, if I tell the truth, it's the equivalent of me knocking on David Blatt's door and saying, "Hey, this is what we're going to do." I could evade the question, which would start this Twitter phenomenon. Who is going to start for the Warriors? Or I could lie. So, I lied. Sorry.The Twitter phenomenon that Kerr wanted to avoid might as well start now about his sweet little trick. But who cares? The journalists in the room had a good laugh, and Kerr got his redemption, and a win. On to Game 5.