During the regular season, Zaza Pachulia started 57 of the 69 games he appeared in.
He averaged 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds over 14.1 minutes per night.
Over 21 playoff games, he essentially was completely out of the rotation.
"It wasn't easy," Zaza said on KNBR 680 on Monday. "Since the last day, I wanted to play. Then I was thinking to myself -- putting myself in the (mind of the) coaching staff -- I said, you know what -- I'd rather have a player who wants to play, who's kind of a little bit mad, kind of looking in my eyes asking me to put me in the game coach, rather than having a player who doesn't want to play. I think that's a good problem.
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"Second thing -- comes from the love of the game. This game is my life. Basketball is my life. Being able to adjust, I think it was something very important. This will help me a lot. I learned a lot ... 15th year in the league and had to face this kind of situation. I think I was able to still contribute, still help, still be involved ... enjoyed it as much as possible."
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It's likely that Zaza will not be back with the Warriors next season.
The 34-year old said he has started to think about what he will do with the next chapter of his life, but isn't ready to retire quite yet.
Does he envision a potential career in coaching?
"I kind of felt like I was coaching," Zaza said about his role in the playoffs. "I had a lot of conversations with him (Steve Kerr) -- even during the game -- I definitely understand how difficult it is to coach the team."
