SAN FRANCISCO – Never in his nine seasons as coach of the Warriors has Steve Kerr fielded a starting lineup as small as he did Saturday against the Lakers. That was a challenge.
OK, Lakers, see if you can take advantage of a lineup with an average height of 6-foot-5.
They could not. And Chris Paul, the smallest Warrior at 6-foot-1, joined his teammates in arguing that size need not play a role, at least in the first game of the preseason.
In his first appearance with Golden State, Paul earned loud cheers from the sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center and finished with six points, five assists and three rebounds in 13 minutes in a 125-108 win over Los Angeles.
“I’ve never heard that (applause) before, that I can’t get behind my name in this place,” Paul, a longtime rival, told NBC Sports Bay Area.
While the Lakers left LeBron James and Austin Reeves on the bench, the Warriors were missing starting power forward Draymond Green (left ankle), prompting Kerr to adjust his lineup. Kevon Looney (center) and Andrew Wiggins (small forward) remained in place, but Klay Thompson moved from shooting guard to power forward while Stephen Curry moved from point guard to shooting guard to make room for Paul at the point.
No problem. The Warriors held firm on defense, limiting LA to 41 percent shooting from the field and winning the rebounding battle 60-46. The starters had a 30-21 rebound advantage in the first half.
“I played a lot of basketball; “We played small ensembles all the time in Houston,” Paul said. “This is just a preparatory game, but we are trying to stay true to our principles.”
It was Paul who put Golden State on the scoreboard with a mid-range jumper from the right baseline with 10:18 left in the first quarter. His other basket, with 5:51 left in the half, came on a clever running floater in the paint.
Paul’s performance was generally solid. He was 2 of 4 from the field, 0 of 1 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line. He scored plus-6 in his 13 minutes, all of which came in the first half and alongside Curry, Thompson and Looney.
“Chris is great,” Kerr said. “He keeps the game so simple and he’s a great passer. There’s a pace to the game that’s fun as a coach when you just know he’s going to make the right play time and time again. He understands when we need to pull back and step into action or play faster because he understands the rhythm of the game.”
CP3 had three turnovers, which isn’t a cause for concern given his newness to the squad. One of the key benefits of his Hall of Fame career is an assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks among the best in the NBA. He will fix this.
However, I couldn’t help but notice how often Paul failed to get back on defense. It would be wise to spare his sometimes sore 38-year-old legs from testing his limits in his first pre-season game with his new team.
What you can take away from this game is that despite the size disadvantage, the Warriors were in command during the Paul Curry Thompson Looney minutes. There were a few moments of expected sloppiness in the first game, but nothing suggested that size was an issue.
“We have to play to our strengths and try to play to our strengths defensively, and rebounding is part of that,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area. “There was an emphasis on defense as the offense usually takes care of itself.”
Golden State led by as many as 18 in the first half before taking a 61-54 lead into the locker room at halftime. A 28-19 halftime rebounding advantage had to be encouraging against a Los Angeles frontcourt that features eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis, who averages 6-foot-9.
Kerr has mentioned that there will be occasions where Thompson is used at power forward, and this was his debut, so to speak. He performed well, holding his own on defense and grabbing five rebounds in 13 minutes.
“It’s just preseason, so you don’t see teams trying to expose matchups,” Kerr said of the small lineup. “But this group has held up pretty well defensively.”
With Green expected to miss the next preseason game, next Friday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, the small lineup will be considered again.
This won’t be Golden State’s normal starting five. But it’s preseason, and any noticeable rotational flexibility is beneficial.
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