SAN FRANCISCO — On the eve of the Warriors’ preseason finale, which they consider a dress rehearsal for the regular season, head coach Steve Kerr still has an unsettled rotation — both in the starting lineup and behind it.
Kerr has said this is the deepest team he has coached in Golden State, in terms of sheer NBA-quality players. The team goes 13 deep, with Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney and Lindy Waters III each duking it out for playing time at the end of the bench. They’ve each proven themselves to be rotational players in the NBA, but cracking the 10-man rotation isn’t easy.
“Roster-wise, we haven’t made any decisions on the back end, but we feel like we have a pretty good handle on our team,” Kerr said on Thursday, after what he and others deemed their best practice of the preseason.
The Warriors have used five distinct starting lineups in each of their five preseason games, going 5-0 while experimenting with different combinations. None of them have jumped off the page, but each provides hints at the team’s thinking.
In the four games Draymond Green has played, he has started three of them next to a traditional center (either Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney). With the Warriors’ priority of improving defensively and keeping Green’s small-ball five minutes down, they appear to be leaning toward that frontcourt setup.
With Green and a center, plus Steph Curry, that leaves two spots on the wing left uncertain.
De’Anthony Melton has looked great in his minutes next to Curry, and he practiced in full on Thursday after back tightness held him out of Tuesday’s game. Brandin Podziemski has experience with Curry, is their best secondary ball-handler and led the team in rebounding last year. Andrew Wiggins is the team’s best point-of-attack defender but is coming off a down year and an interrupted preseason. Jonathan Kuminga has shot the ball well from 3-point land and has the highest upside on the roster, but still struggles to make an impact defensively and on the glass.
Four players for two spots. Kerr made a point to turn this training camp and preseason into an open competition for roles, but he likely would have hoped the contest played itself out by now.
“The worst part is telling three — at least two, maybe three — very worthy rotation players that they’re not in the plans that night,” Kerr said. “The best part is when some of those guys aren’t available and you can still play with depth. And try to play the way we’re playing: feisty defensively, running. We have the depth to do that in the season. But it’s no fun telling guys, especially guys who have earned it…we have 13 players who have earned a spot in the rotation.”
In Golden State’s most recent preseason contest, agains the Lakers on Tuesday, they started the jumbo lineup of Curry, Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis. There are clear issues with that unit. Outside of Curry, there’s no one reliable to bring the ball up against pressure. In the half court, there’s not enough spacing to run pick-and-rolls and many traditional sets.
But the group has a lot of athleticism and defensive versatility. If they can play up-tempo, like they did Tuesday, it can be viable for stretches.
“If you play that lineup and get deflections and rebounds, and you get out and run, then the ball starts to move and you can have a lot of success,” Kerr said.
It’s possible the Warriors use that lineup for certain matchups, and a different for others. It’s also possible they start one lineup and pull the center after a few minutes to go small, which they’ve done for stretches in the past.
A more balanced lineup would have either Podziemski or Melton next to Curry in the backcourt instead of Wiggins, who’s a natural small forward. If Golden State uses that formula, the battle becomes either Wiggins or Kuminga at the three.
Wiggins missed two weeks of preseason and training camp with an illness, but came into camp in great shape and is conditioned to play normal minutes. The organization has high hopes for him coming of the worst statistical season of his career. Kuminga, who’s eligible for a rookie extension, has shot 47.6% from behind the 3-point arc in five games and is key to getting out in transition. But he has frequently looked lost in defensive rotations and has made several poor closeouts resulting in blow-bys.
The competitions, and uncertainty remain ongoing.
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“It’s pushing our team to be better,” Looney said of the playing-time battles. “Everybody knows you have to compete to play. It’s kind of breeding the physicality and the pace and every way we want to play. We’re doing it in practice and I think it’s transferring over.”
No one has impressed more than Moody, who has averaged 15.8 points in 20.4 minutes per game on high volume and excellent efficiency. He prioritized outside shooting and movement this summer, and it has paid off.
Moody doesn’t appear to be in the mix for the starting five, but his role will determine just how much of a meritocracy Kerr’s open competition really is. He could be the odd-man out of the rotation like he has been in the past, but he has proven himself worthy of real minutes as a two-way wing with more off-the-bounce juice than previously thought.
Friday night’s preseason finale against the Lakers in the Chase Center will be the biggest hint yet — for Moody, for the starters and the back-end of the rotation.
“We know the next one counts after this,” Kerr said. “So let’s be sharp with the stuff we’ve been teaching. The rotations defensively, the coverages defensively, and then getting into our stuff with precision and force. I loved the running the other night. Make or miss, we really pushed the ball well early in the game. And I thought that set a tone. I just want to see more of that, and we’ll continue to address the mistakes that are inevitably made. Clean that up. But I think we’re in a good position to be ready for that Portland game on Wednesday night.”
Notable
— The Warriors held their annual open practice on Wednesday night at Chase Center, with roughly 13,000 fans in attendance. They continued the tradition of rookie karaoke, and Trayce Jackson-Davis (who sang Beyonce’s “Halo” last year) said Quinten Post’s rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” was his favorite.
Other highlights were player development coach Noel Hightower’s “Can’t Believe It” by T-Pain and Reece Beekman’s “Love” by Keyshia Cole.
— Also at the team’s open practice, Brandin Podziemski earned the $10,000 purse from Steph Curry for winning the half-court shot contest. He was the only one who hit two half-courters, and he added a full-court heave right after winning just for fun.
Blake Hinson, Kyle Anderson and an underhanded Steve Kerr each hit one half-court shot. The team likes to do those competitions sporadically throughout the season to keep things light.
— To drop 20 pounds this summer, Kevon Looney changed not what, but when he ate. Working with a nutritionist, Looney fasted until roughly 4 or 5 p.m., going through his morning and afternoon workouts — sprints, lifting, 5-on-5 work — on just a cup of coffee.
Looney is considerably trim now, which should help him be more nimble on both ends; he has hit a midrange jumper in just about every preseason game so far. Fasting will be more difficult during the regular season, but he’s confident he can maintain his current playing weight of around 260 pounds.
