SAN FRANCISCO — Lindy Waters III has been one of the Warriors’ best players since the first day of training camp, according to Steve Kerr.
One of the best players, point blank.
Yet Waters began the season out of Kerr’s 12-man rotation, the victim of a cruel numbers game that a deep roster creates. Still, Waters got a chance four games into the season when Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton were unavailable due to injury.
Waters is already a Kerr favorite. Even when he was not playing, Kerr said he’d feel comfortable inserting Waters into the starting lineup. The circumstances Tuesday night against the Pelicans allowed the wing an opportunity, and he apparently didn’t have any trouble staying fresh despite a lack of playing time beforehand.
“I got a strap on me,” Waters said postgame. “I just wake up and I can shoot it, no matter if I’m playing or not.”
Waters ignited the Warriors’ 20-point comeback win against the Pelicans. He scored 21 points off the bench on 8-for-13 shooting, earning a team-best plus-26 in the box score.
In years past, the Warriors have drowned in games without Curry. They don’t have enough scoring options to jump-start their offense. But with Waters and Buddy Hield, the Warriors have a pair of movement shooters to drive defenses crazy.
“The game flows when he’s out there,” Kerr said postgame. “It’s not just because he’s a good shooter, he’s a good basketball player. It’s the shots that he doesn’t take because of his patience, it’s the cuts that he makes to the basket, it’s getting into the fight defensively.”
Kerr joked that the way Waters played against the Pelicans, he might have to expand his rotation to 13 players.
But in seriousness, the Warriors’ theory that their depth makes them built to withstand injuries bore out on Tuesday.
Golden State started its season with a 12-man rotation. Injuries, the thinking goes, just force players to step into bigger roles than normal.
There’s Kyle Anderson, who can step into a Draymond Green-like role whenever the defensive ace has to miss time. Hield can provide instant offense. Brandin Podziemski, normally a connecting backup, is capable of running the show.
And Waters, who wasn’t part of the plans in the first three games, is undoubtedly an NBA-caliber player. Not only is he an elite 3-point shooter, but he has good size at 6-foot-6 and is active enough to haul in a career-high eight rebounds. He also added a pair of steals and four assists.
“I’m grateful for what I have so I can’t be greedy and have a bad attitude coming in whether I get playing time or not,” Waters said. “I’m going to be the same person every day. I’ll always have a smile on my face and encourage my teammates. Whatever my role is that day, I’ll accept it and I just want the team to win.”
The Warriors picked Waters up from the Thunder in some draft-day chicanery that netted Golden State Waters and rookie center Quinten Post for essentially funny money.
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One win against the Pelicans alone makes the maneuvering from Mike Dunleavy’s front office worth it.
Waters drained a couple 3s to start the second quarter, helping Golden State open the period on a 10-3 run. He shot without hesitation and made the right reads when Pelicans defenders took away his airspace. Nothing was forced, and nothing felt flukey.
He even threw down a one-handed dunk in traffic, flashing athleticism that probably wasn’t on New Orleans’ scouting report.
“Lindy Waters came in and lit it up, changed the game,” Kerr said.
The most productive lineup Golden State discovered included Waters, Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Kyle Anderson. The spacing Hield and Waters created afforded driving lanes for Kuminga — the team’s best downhill threat.
Waters, one of the few players of Native American descent in NBA history, spent the first three years of his career toiling on the end of Oklahoma City’s bench. Golden State’s roster situation seemed to put him in a similar position.
The only reason he played Tuesday was the absence of Curry, Wiggins and Melton. Curry is set to be re-evaluated Friday, Melton told this news organization his back pain is already alleviating, and Wiggins is day-to-day. Waters’ opportunity could be fleeting.
But after Tuesday, and based on the impression he has made on Kerr, he might make himself undeniable — passing the short end of the stick to someone else on the team.
“He’s going to make his case for more playing time,” Kerr said.
