THE Warriors of the Golden State the starting lineup has confused them all year. For years, the team’s starting lineup has been exceptional, and the biggest problem they’ve faced is whether or not they’ll be able to survive the minutes when Steph Curry and his fellow starters head to the bench .
But this year, everything has changed. The addition of Chris Paul and the emergence of first- and third-year players made the bench one of the league’s elite. If I had told you this before the season, you probably would have put the Dubs in contention in the West; instead, they sit in last place in the play-in tournament, thanks to a starting five that has struggled throughout the year.
After dropping the same starting five that dominated en route to the 2022 championship — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney — Kerr finally seemed to have found something special in February. Thompson headed to the bench to become a super-sub, replaced by rookie Brandin Podziemski. The ultra-reliable Looney also hit the pin, while Green moved up a position to the five, accommodating a third-year leap from Jonathan Kuminga.
It worked for a while. Golden State was one of the best teams in the NBA in February, despite Paul’s absence. The starting five was the main reason for this.
And now they have returned to earth, like punctuated by Monday’s defeat At New York Knicksin which the starting five combined for just 52 points in 139 minutes, on 18-for-51 shooting. The five-man bench team of Paul, Thompson, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody , on the other hand, broke out for 60 points in just 102 minutes, on 24 of 37 shots.
It appears Kerr may have to consider another change in the starting lineup, hoping to find a modicum of momentum in the final month of the regular season. However, there is a question tree for this.
The first question is simple: Should the Warriors change their starting lineup?
If the answer is “no”, then the question tree is complete. However, let’s assume the answer is “yes”.
The next question is: Who should enter the starting lineup?
I see two players you can make an easy case for: Thompson and Moody. The reasons for and against both are pretty clear. For Klay, a return to the starting five means giving the team a spacing and scoring boost it desperately lacks. Despite Klay’s relatively bad year, he’s still second on the team in points per game and third in three-point percentage (behind Curry and, hilariously, team leader Green).
On paper, the team’s second-leading scorer and second-leading shooter are a no-brainer to be in the starting lineup, especially when they have relationships with the rest of the starting five. But Thompson struggled a bit early and thrived off the bench. Not only is he finding a good rhythm, but he anchors a bench unit that is arguably the best in the league.
Moody’s case is a little less extreme. His solid overall play and lack of mistakes would do wonders for a starting lineup struggling with missed defensive assignments, low energy and bad turnovers. But the fact that he’s only been given eight minutes in the last two games makes it seem like Kerr may not view him as one of the team’s best players; and is this someone you want to start?
You could also make a case for Jackson-Davis, who has been a revelation, but that complicates spacing. Paul could be an addition, but the Warriors would have to shift the minutes quite dramatically to ensure he’s still on the court when Curry is resting.
The following question on the question tree: Who should leave the starting lineup?
There are really only two options here: Podziemski and Wiggins. Both have suffered greatly since their return to the lineup on March 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, in seven games, Podziemski has averaged just 8.1 points per game while shooting 40.8% from the field, and Wiggins 11.1 points while shooting 42.0%.
Keeping Wiggins in the starting five is a higher risk, higher reward scenario: He’s shown flashes of being the two-way star who made the 2022 All-Star starting lineup, but at worse, he single-handedly tanked matches for the Warriors. Podziemski, on the other hand, probably has a lower ceiling (for now), but even in his bad games he seems to make good decisions, stay locked in on defense and gobble up rebounds.
Given the lackadaisical nature the Warriors have shown of late, my inclination would be to replace Wiggins with Moody. The trio of Moody, Kuminga and Podziemski will provide energy and hustle alongside Curry and Green, while keeping the bench trio of Thompson, Paul and Jackson-Davis intact (and adding Wiggins).
Will it work? Who knows. But the Dubs desperately need something.
