Not all of the change that the Golden State Warriors franchise has experienced recently was negative. They managed to at least not be left empty-handed after Durant decided to depart for the Brooklyn Nets. Both sides facilitated a sign-and-trade deal that sent the All-Star, D'Angelo Russell, to the Warriors.
There should be little concern about the pairing of Stephen Curry and Russell from the perspective of how it will impact Curry. He is so dynamic as a playmaker and as an off-ball threat that he can succeed with practically any supporting cast. It will mostly be up to Russell to diversify his off-ball repertoire and for head coach Steve Kerr to use methods that maximize Russell's strengths.
Getting the best out of any personnel starts with allowing them to frequently utilize what they do best. A crucial element to Russell's success with the Nets came through frequently running pick-and-rolls. These sequences accounted for a massive 62.6 percent of his offensive possessions last season when including passing. That rate will surely drop but it will be important that a proper balance is established.
During a recent episode of The Full 48 podcast with Howard Beck, Kerr mentioned that he believes that D'Angelo is ‘really good' at running screen-and-rolls and that he'd be a ‘fool not to run more of that stuff.' He has always been a firm believer in taking advantage of his players' strengths and with the Warriors losing so many playmakers in their supporting cast, it makes sense now more than ever to use more pick-and-rolls.
“My guess is that we'll run more screen-and-roll than we have in the past,” Kerr said. “You think about the number of passers who we have lost, playmaking guys like Livingston and Iguodala and David West, and passing big men like Zaza. We've had a lot of guys who could make plays and it just made a lot of sense to distribute the ball.”
“I'm always going to believe as a basketball coach that the ball has to move. I just believe that's the case in the sport to generate the best shots, but you also have to take the most advantage of your talent and so we will get a good look at that during camp and there's a good chance we'll end up running more screen-and-roll because D'Angelo is really good at it and we got some guys that are going to be good at it and Willie Cauley-Stein is really good at setting a screen and diving to the rim and catching a lob. So I'd be a fool not to run more of that stuff but we'll get a feel for that as we go for how this thing is going to look.”
A luxury that the Warriors had last season was that their lineup featured two of the league's absolute best isolation scorers in Curry and Durant. While Curry was slightly more efficient than Durant, the team's half-court offense had 48.6 percent of their isolation possessions going to Durant with only 15.5 percent belonging to Curry. The only other relied upon isolation scorer that the team had was Thompson and his absence only increases the void needed to be filled.
The frequency of isolation plays from the Warriors will be interesting to watch given that they pride themselves on ball movement. They ranked only 17th in isolation frequency last season despite the talent that they had but losing supporting cast playmaking may force them to rely on these sequences more, whether Kerr likes it or not. Of course, Curry will be relied on to shoulder a heavier load, but this is an ideal area for Russell to come into play as well.
There appears to be a need for Russell to grow as an off-ball player so he can still consistently provide value beyond basic catch-and-shoot sequences. Where that may need to begin is through off-screen plays. The Warriors utilized off-screen plays for a by far league most 12.9 percent of their offensive possessions while comfortably outproducing all 29 other teams from an efficiency standpoint.
Losing Durant entirely and Thompson for most of the season will strongly deplete the Warriors' capabilities as an off-screen team as they both combined for 59.2 percent of these plays last season. The Nets rarely used Russell in off-screen sequences last season as these plays occurred on just 3.1 percent of his offensive possessions. He struggled in these situations as he produced only 0.825 points per possession and that ranked 69th among the 79 players with at least 50 attempts.
Considering how the Warriors managed to use the highest frequency of cutting possessions in the league in 2018-19, Russell needs to be prepared to embrace that part of the game. Only 1.5 percent of his offensive possessions last season came in the form of cuts and that was very close to the absolute bottom of the NBA in frequency. That will need to change for him to be a better fit in Kerr's system.
From a usage standpoint, the plan regarding who will bring the ball up and initiate the offense will depend on whoever grabs the rebound or is closest to the ball. Whichever one of them doesn't end up with the ball will focus on running the floor. Using this strategy should help with not forcing Curry to be burdened by too much responsibility by allowing him to conserve energy and continue to utilize his incredible off-ball talent.
“It's no secret I like to play on and off the ball, and I know he can do the same,” Curry said. “Our formula is whoever gets the rebound, or whoever is closest to the ball, get it and go, and the other guy [will] just run. I think the chemistry will be developed very quickly in terms of how we work off each other and what we can accomplish as a backcourt.”
Steph Curry says he and D’Angelo Russell have made a rule: Whoever gets (or is closest to) defensive rebound starts on the ball. The other opens possession off ball. pic.twitter.com/DqBkKZaeVJ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 2, 2019
It will be up to both guards to elevate the Warriors' transition attack, regardless of who initially has the ball. Failing to do so could be concerning given how the reliant their offense has been on these plays from both an efficiency and frequency standpoint. Last season, the Warriors were outproduced in transition points per possession by only the Toronto Raptors and they ranked sixth in frequency.
A potential concern for the Warriors' transition offense this season could be Russell's general ineffectiveness if he doesn't experience growth. He produced a struggling 0.923 points per possession as a transition scorer in 2018-19 and only three players among the 40 that logged at least 200 possessions were less efficient. There will be a need for role players to step up during fast break plays, but Curry and Russell will need to elevate their personal execution.
Something to keep in consideration is how Curry and Russell produce while one is on the floor without the other. Kerr intends to stagger their playing time and that will help to maximize the opportunities that the two All-Star guards can make as playmakers through games. With the depleted talent on their bench, their impact will be essential.
The viability of Russell's fit could have a significant influence over the future plans of the Warriors. While they don't intend to trade him now, he will still need to prove to be a fit.
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