Warriors coach Steve Kerr seems ready to abandon the 11- and 12-man rotations he was using early in the season, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Although Golden State had success with that approach while Kerr experimented to see how his new players fit together, he wants a consistent group on the court as the schedule becomes more challenging.
“Given the stretch we’re in … we’ve got to settle in these next couple weeks,” he said before Monday’s game. “Stick with the same lineup. Same rotation off the bench if possible and see if we can find some rhythm.”
He unveiled the new approach on Saturday, using Dennis Schröder, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green as his closing lineup and giving them all at least 34 minutes. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Buddy Hield, Lindy Waters III and Brandin Podziemski made up the rest of the rotation. Jackson-Davis got the start at center and was used for some defensive possessions late in the game.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors need to lean heavily on Kuminga and the rest of the young core to be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, contends Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. That’s especially true of Kuminga, who has the best chance of any of Golden State’s young players to become a star. Kroichick notes that Kuminga has displayed more assertiveness recently, compiling 40 free throws and 29 rebounds over his last three games. “This is a young man’s game, we know that,” Kerr said. “It’s a sport that requires so much endurance, physical conditioning and ability to bounce back from aches and pains, and it just gets harder and harder for the older guys. If you don’t have a young core, you’re in some trouble. I probably feel better about our young group now than I ever have.”
- The Lakers suddenly have much more frontcourt depth as Dorian Finney-Smith arrived in a trade with Brooklyn and Jaxson Hayes was cleared to return from an ankle injury, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Coach J.J. Redick frequently relied on small-ball lineups, as the team has been without a legitimate backup center since Hayes got hurt. “Night to night, it will be different,” Redick told reporters before tonight’s game. “Jaxson is our backup five. But there may be times that we play small. It’s just the reality. (Finney-Smith) has shown he can guard up. Rui (Hachimura) has really improved from where we were three months ago, playing him at the five in our first preseason game to where he is now. … And we know Doe (Finney-Smith) can obviously play at the five as well. So excited to have options for sure.”
- Suns guard Bradley Beal had to leave tonight’s game after suffering a hip contusion in the first quarter, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The team announced that he wouldn’t return, but no other details were provided.
Surprise! It took 30 games, but Kerr admits that his bad ideas were, well, bad ideas.
A 12-man rotation won’t work. There was a reason why no other NBA coaches do that.
Also, Kuminga should play 34 minutes, not 25, because he’s the team’s 2nd best player. Kuminga’s last season wasn’t a fluke and Kerr’s bosses were right to offer Kuminga a $150M contract.
Those mistakes have cost the team 7-8 wins to date, and endangered the team’s playoff chances, and reduced Kuminga’s desire to stay with the team I the future, but, hey, he’s Steve Kerr.
Yeah, worst coach who has won 5 championships in history.
Two things can be true:
1. He deserves credit for past success.
2. He’s doing a bad job this year.
It can happen when great coaches grow old. See Bill Bellichick and Phil Jackson.
Also it’s a fact that If Kuminga is never a serious all star candidate nobody has any right or reason whatsoever to consider that surprising or disappointing!
If he ends up more like a OG that would be a great result for him and the warriors
By your logic, starting Kuminga at the beginning of the season was a terrible idea. He was definitely in a shooting slump to start the season. His shooting numbers have only risen since coming off of the bench. He still hasn’t reached his career averages.
Have you spoken to Kuminga about his plans for next season? How do you know where he wants to play next season? You are making an assumption about his desires
fact is next year Kuminga is a restricted free agent so some team will give him a contract and the warriors can match it. Just do the same thing the Lakers did and say they will match it at the last moment messing up what team signs them for those 10 days where they can’t make a move.
Warriors can and will match any higher offer because he’s a highly valuable asset, but they will not want to keep an unhappy player asking to be traded because he thinks the coach prevents him from reaching his potential.
There is a lot of bad blood here. That doesn’t mean it can’t work out in the end, but it’s a big concern.
See Kuminga’s own and his agent’s social media feeds to know their displeasure. Or, listen to what he’s said in live interviews. And then apply your critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking is knowing the warriors is not going to let him walk away for free. If he tells them he wants to leave a trade will be involved to get some good compensation back.
arc89, my “critical thinking” comment was intended for giants74, not you. Yes, the Warriors will sign Kuminga.
You are using Social Media as a window into another person’s psyche? Huh? Any posting on social media lacks all the context of communication. Any interpretation is subject to the viewers biases. Has he said explicitly that he wants a trade?
That is why i put a IF he tells them.
Yeah wow like Kerr is so bad he made buddy hield forget how to make an open three and he must have put an invisible lid on the bucket so his players would miss bunnies at the rim. He’s must be some kind of magical being! Really sabotaging his own team with his witchcraft, maybe we should study his powers
Kerr has been playing some very bad rotations and playing the wrong players. His offensive plays at the end of the game has not been working when its give the ball to Curry who is being double and triple teamed. Small ball is not working and other teams adjusted to it.
By “Small Ball”, I guess you mean lack of a “true center”? Where is this mythical player supposed to come from?
Its too late now to get one because it should have been picked up in the off season with the money they used for Anderson.
You are not going to get a “true center” for the type of money Anderson is making.
warriors don’t need a offensive expensive Center. They need a defensive rebounding center who are much cheaper. Should be priority #1 in off season. Steven Adams fits that space and should come affordable with how his injuries been last 2 years.
Another Warriors Center with knee problems? Adams would be the 5th in a decade. I guess it would be easier this time around. They could just roll out a gurney from across the street and patch them up.
you said what they could afford. I gave you a example.
Basketball 101: Small Ball isn’t limited to not using a true center. It’s a more general tactic of creating mismatches in speed and skill where a disadvantage in size is surmountable.
Playing 3 guards at once without any true big on the is an example.
Small Ball can work at times. The point is that Kerr is going too far with it.
So the hallmark of small ball is speed and skill? Players who can create space? The ability to defeat double teams. I guess that is why teams like mobile centers.
Kessler
Ari I think Kerr had to play those 12 man rotations to figure out who worked together for the first month or so. Then settle into a regular rotation and go from there.
Did Kerr take too long and now they’re in trouble? Maybe so. But the problem is everyone’s crying to play the young guys and the young guys lose games for you.
Kuminga is a huge problem. The stats look great, but I don’t know if you can have him on the floor the final 90 seconds of a tie game. He still makes rookie mistakes in his fourth season.
And look at the other night late in the game with Moses Moody. My goodness, you’re going up against their big man and try to throw it down one-handed with the ball exposed like that. Of course it gets blocked !!
You’ll notice the guard on the very next play went the other way and scored a layup.
Why can’t Moses Moody do that? Because he sucks. Because his head doesn’t work when he’s on the basketball court. He went statue of liberty and the big man just put his hand up and blocked him and didn’t foul him.
Moody doesn’t realize the guy WITH THE BALL is the guy in control.
Any other guard would’ve scored or at the very least been fouled and gone to the line. Can’t even watch him play anymore.
Definitely can’t have those two guys on the floor at the end of a tight game. Give me anyone else, give me Waters I don’t care.
Gary, We’ve ended up almost exactly the rotation that made us the 2nd best team in the 2nd half of last season. Basically, everything new that Kerr tried has failed, and he said as much after the Minnesota game.
Per Kerr, we’re back to this scheme from H2 2023-24:
– 9 man rotation, 10 at most
– These 5 key players get starter minutes. Kuminga, TJD, Draymond, Wiggins and Steph
– Schröder has basically replaced CP3.
– Hield has basically replaced Klay.
– Looney, Moody, GP2, and SloMo at end of bench, eating DNP’s.
The one difference: Kerr has committed 17 minutes per game to Lindy Waters. Let’s hope this is the next “experiment” that Kerr abandons. You can’t get blood from a turnip.
I have to correct you about “the young guys lose you games.” In H2 of last year, both Kuminga (along with Podz) joined Steph, Dray and Wiggs as part of the best starting lineup in the NBA (measured by point differential, and based on 400+ possessions). TJD, Dray, Kuminga, Steph, and Podz were our second best lineup, by far. Our young players may make more mistakes, but they’re also better.
I know you believe that Kuminga is not nearly as good as PJ Washington in any facet of the game, so I don’t expect you’ll appreciate this:
Kuminga has single-handedly won 3 of our last 5 wins in the closing minute. In addition to the clutch scoring, he locked up Randle and KD.
I DO appreciate it ari. Thumbs up.
Your opinion is evidence you know hoops and that you love the Warriors. I always appreciate your posts.
Gary! I do love the Dubs, but too much these days.
Whenever I see a new post from you, I immediately know it’s in 1 of 3 categories:
1. Informed: I always read these
2. Winding up DaveyJ (or one of his fake accounts): sometimes I’ll follow the thread to see if he bites
3. Kuminga hating: I’m here for you, man, but are these posts some kind of cry for help? Can I get you a PJ Washington bobblehead?
It’s a real drag reading all your negative comments about the Warriors’ young players. I’m doing my best to skip by them. Are you ‘not getting any’ lately?
Not sure why you need the derogatory comment but when I watch some of these young guys play, it’s just tough.
It’s the growing pains that you can tolerate for the first year or two or so but we’re in year four with a man who wants a max contract.
We’re also in year four with another dude who has no idea what he’s doing on the basketball court. Both defensively and offensively. Oh but he has a sweet stroke that he’s worked on so he’ll hit a shot from three point land more often than a ton of guys. That’s what you want me to be excited about?
Gary, something to consider about today’s young players: they skipped college and are learning the game on the job. You can’t judge them fairly until they’ve played a few year.
Kuminga played his first NBA game at 18 years old. He just turned 22, and now he’s getting NBA player of the week awards. MJ was almost 22 when he played his first NBA game. Dominique was a year older than that.
Wiseman was 19 when drafted and only 21 when traded by the Warriors 28 months later, still 2 years younger than when Kareem, Russell, and Wilt played their first game.
Yes absolutely correct. Plus guys mature at different rates and at different ages. No problem at all. I appreciate your opinion and it’s a good one. I’m just giving mine, right or wrong and just throwing it out there.
I recall Jermaine O’Neill‘s four years with the Blazers and I also recall Jermaine O’Neill‘s next five years or so with the Pacers. I’m aware of all that.
I still hold to my opinion on Jonathan Kuminga, which is he better get it squared away and fast. And I still hold to my opinion on Moses Moody, which is he is not a sixth or seventh man he is a 10th man. He just doesn’t have it. But as I said, just my opinion and it’s worth about what you paid for it.
LAL lost the trade of D-Lo and picks for DFS big time… I mean swapping an All-Star player for a rotation guy, a reserve for all intended purposes… it’s a SMH move, right?
D-Lo can’t be successful in the Lakers system because the ball won’t be in his hands enough, which reduces him to a spot up shooter. DFS has the skillset they need. I don’t know that it moves them into contention, but they certainly got better with the trade.
They fit a need in defense but they lost some instant offense off the bench. So some games its a plus others its a negative.
Dont mind El Don, “he’s always wrong.”
This Nightmare season is mostly on Kerr. Warriors can be in playoffs with any normal NBA coach.
Steve, just name your best 9 guys and then just get out of the way. This isn’t complicated.
I know it’s a secret but…the warriors aren’t very good anymore. Don’t tell anyone.
People expect Curry to be the same but this season he looks like father time is catching up fast. The bench is not as good as it should be and the coaches are doing a bad job on making up plays.
It’s as it is for any elite player as they age; they can and still will put up huge games where they look like their old selves, but doing it night in and night out is no longer possible. Just too difficult to bounce back every night over the course of an 82-game season. The young guys can. The old ones can’t.
But when you’re as desperate the Warriors are right now you also can’t afford to give those old guys too much rest. It’s a Catch-22.
Shea, well-put about the aging issues.
Here’s another: it doesn’t make sense to use an offense designed for Steph when he now plays less than 1/2 of the team’s minutes. (He’ll play ~ 60 of 82 games, and 30 of 48 minutes he plays.)
The team currently doesn’t have the personel to run a motion offense when Steph is not present…which we’ve seen since Schroder arrived…which is why everything looks so hard and awkward for all our players offensively when Schroder is on the court.
In deciding that Podz couldn’t play PG, the team also lost the only other PG trained to run this offense. Schroder may have different strengths than Podz, but, at least so far, he’s completely unable to run this offense, whether Steph is on the floor or not.
Schroder makes you realize how good a PG Chris Paul is, because Paul was able to run this offense from his first game.
Everyone knows the Warriors aren’t great but they aren’t this bad. Everyone also can see they are putting scrubs on the floor and sitting better guys. You disagree?
Agree with you. Why is Watters playing over Moody? Why is looney their best rebounder sitting on the bench. Why is Buddy playing when he is not making shots. If you are not going to use players trade them and get something back.
Moody hasn’t played much because he has a knee injury. They don’t go away overnight.
before the knee injury he wasn’t getting the playing time. I rather see the young players play at this point just to see if they have what it takes to build around.
With a strong draft, missing the playoffs wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Getting a guy like Maluach would be nice.
arc, Waters plays in front of Moody because Moody can’t stay in front of a guy, has no idea where to go once switches have happened on defense, can’t block out a man for a rebound and has zero skill going to the basket offensively.
His feet are too big. His legs are too slow and he doesn’t have it upstairs. That’s why you hesitate giving minutes to Moses Moody. He’s a fine young man, but those hoping he becomes a sixth or seventh man in a rotation will be dreaming for quite a while.
I Hope he figures it out. You can see the work he put in to become a good shooter. So there’s that. Pulling for him, of course.
At least Waters is active defensively, moves his feet, has the potential to make every three he shoots and has a little better court vision than Moody does.
I don’t think I’ve seen Moody make a great pass this entire year whereas Waters will find a guy cutting to the basket maybe once a week lol.
You’re always in here campaigning for anything bad on Moody, meanwhile ignoring how much Podz stinks.
Literally 95% of Warriors fans love Moody and want Podz and Kerr gone.
Davey??
Yes, you’re right on Podski. He’s been crappy. But Moody IS crappy.
Gary, regarding Waters, the question isn’t whether he’s better than Moody, but that Waters should never be used as a rotation player.
Check out Waters splits for the season. They’re horrendous.
No other contending NBA team has a player this bad playing nearly as much — 17 mins per game.
That’s just burning W’s. Coaching malpractice.
Umm…He already did that. The problem has been that they have been in slumps or injured. Their offense has gone from #3, to start the season, #17, currently.
Their schedule was very weak to start the season, including with games against Portland, Utah, 3 against Pelicans, Wizards, etc
That concealed several problems.
LA definitely won that trade…
2 players that fit next to LBJ and AD
Vs
1 over rated player and 1 unproven player
I think El Don is the only guy in the face the planet who thinks the Lakers lost that trade.
It was a necessary trade and sure Brooklyn did fine getting draft picks so they’re good, but the Lakers win because of who they brought in and who they put on the first plane out of town.
No-brainer from LA‘s point of view. Well except for El Don.
Agreed…
Nets could of possibly held out for a better trade package, but those picks will help them land a star down the line and Dlo is off the books at seasons end…
Lakers… Well it’s a bad trade if you hate the Lakers, but fans of the team should be overjoyed…
Removing Moody and Looney from the rotation but keeping Lindy Waters is such a stupid decision.
Why cant the rotation be:
Steph/Hield/Wiggins/Draymond/TJD
Schroder/Podz/Moody/Kuminga/Looney
If you remove Podz and get a new Coach it’s an entirely different team. Maybe not a championship team but top four seed by the end of the year.
Kerr is destroying this team day by day with bad choices. His days are numbered for sure.
Brabo, I think that’s what the rotation will be. I believe Waters was playing because Moody had to sit out a game or two because of a lingering knee issue.
I’m not in here enough but some of these casual Warrior fans represent us wrong.
When you read the comments after games, almost ALL Warrior fans want Kerr AND Podz gone.
Podz is a liability on defense and offense
Kerr has horrible rotations and refuses to make adjustments when we are down. Kerr depends on Curry with the Hero ball or we lose each game
I disagree on most of what you said but Kerr does depends too much at the end of the game on Curry. Curry is double and triple teamed at the end of the game. Kerr needs to design plays using Curry as a decoy to get others open. Its unfair to Curry to expect him to make a shot triple teamed.
No fan represents another fan in any way shape or form.
Are you grouping people together? You can’t do that in any case under any circumstance. I thought you knew that?
I represent Gary and I give my opinion and I’m a warrior fan. You represent Davey and you present your opinion and you’re a warrior fan.
It’s great and that’s why we’re on here talking discussing posting. You speak your mind, I speak mine. We agree sometimes we disagree sometimes. That’s what’s fun.
This is so easy …… Dunleavy just needs to trade for 3 All-Stars, get them in that starting lineup.
Kerr will be a top-tier coach again, in no time.
For that to happen, we need to win 73 games again. Only after that will some stud be tired of carrying his middling 60 win team and wanna join forces.
So it looks like the Warriors are done. Rebuild now or rebuild later but rebuild is gonna happen.
Seriously now, there’s no way out for the team …… the only way they can do a proper rebuild, is to trade Steph, which they won’t (and they shouldn’t).
Kuminga is good, but not good enough for any max, which many other teams won’t be giving out like it was 2016.
That COVID draft was the one big chance they had to get a game-changer, a real tradeable asset and they picked position instead of talent.
I don’t want podz gone…he is a great team player…if only they had more like him and dray.
Kerr on the other hand…not that I don’t like Kerr and I do think he has done a great job overall over the years, kind of feel this team could benefit from a change.. (and think about rebuilding).
I know they would probably never trade Steph but I would really consider it for a mass return of mainly future picks…
the more I watch this team, the more I don’t want to watch them, but I want to watch, and am always disappointed. Argh.. would rather watch the Spurs, bulls, Hawks, thunder, Lakers, Mavs,,,
Yeah, you would think trading Curry would be a wise business decision, but the team is worth nearly $10 billion, the number two sports franchise in the nation after the Cowboys. I think that’s a huge part of having Steph Curry as the face of the franchise the last 15 years.
It would be a smart business decision to trade him, but I think loyalty plays a part. The only way you deal Steph Curry is if he asks to be traded then you do it.
But you reward what he’s done for the team by allowing him to call the shot on that. He could be firmly and entrenched in Bay Area business and enjoy living there.
But as a sidenote, you know what, I love change and if I was him, you can still conduct your business in the Bay Area and be a face of the community and retire as a warrior and go in the Hall of Fame with a warrior cap, etc. But maybe your last two years you ask to be traded somewhere and experience a brand new thing.
One team that needs a shooter? One team that needs a leader? Just for a change just to experience a new thing in basketball. Klay did it. Michael Jordan did it. Lots of guys move on, but then you see them retired with their cap or jersey where they made their mark in their younger years.
Pete Rose will always be a Red, even though later he played for the Phillies and expos, etc.
Curry will call the shots on that, but if I was him. I’d experience something new.