SAN FRANCISCO– Things have gone about as well as they could have for the Golden State Warriors in their first five games, especially given the schedule. Five games in eight nights, including two road games and two back-to-back stretches, the Warriors are elated to come out of the opening of the season at 4-1 with the 98-78 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I couldn't be more proud of the guys,” Kerr said in the aftermath of the Warriors' win over the Clippers. “Not only to go 4-1 but to really establish kind of what we want to be and how we want to operate. It's just a hell of an eight days, and now obviously we've got to head out onto the road and keep getting better.”
Golden State has looked like a formidable contender early into its quest for another title, with over four Western Conference rivals who made the playoffs last season.
Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler have been their heartbeat, of course. But they've found valuable contributions from the young core. Jonathan Kuminga's risen to a starter level, with room to go even higher. Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski continue to supplement their skills around the stars. 39-year-old Al Horford's changed how this team can function with his spacing and defensive versatility. Even second-rounders like Quinten Post and Will Richard are finding ways to be positives in ways that don't show up in the stat sheet.
The Warriors have something brewing. Whether it's a championship-level potential remains to be seen this early into the season. Regardless, here are five observations from Golden State's strong start to the season that will factor into their success moving forward.
What Al Horford's minutes situation means for the starters
Strict may not be the right word, but Kerr, Horford, and the Warriors are certainly committed to managing the veteran centers' minutes over the course of the season. That means no playing both ends of a back-to-back and keeping him around 20-25 minutes at most per game. It's a necessary restriction to manage Horford's body in his 19th season in the NBA. However, it also creates some interesting rotational question marks Kerr and the coaching staff will have to solve game to game and week to week.
Against the Clippers, Kerr opted to start Post over Horford, which was a surprise to anyone who hasn't been around the Warriors the past month.
“This is going to be a pattern for us,” Kerr said post-game. “I really just want to bring Al [Horford] off the bench. If he’s going to be 20 minutes, 20 to 25 minutes, I’d rather have him come off the bench and be able to close with him if we need to like we did against Denver. So we’ll probably go back and forth between Quentin and BP [Brandin Podziemski] for now, just depending on what the center matchup looks like.”
Post was the right answer versus Zubac; he was a +34 plus/minus. So the Warriors feel comfortable switching around their starting lineup with Horford coming off the bench. There are some questions about Horford building chemistry in such limited minutes with all the key guys, but they are trusting his IQ and experience will mitigate that challenge.
Bottom line, this team will start Curry, Green, Butler, Kuminga, and rotate whoever into the fifth spot given the matchup.
Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors have found their groove
Through five games, Kuminga seems to have figured out the intricacies of Kerr's game plan and what the Dubs need from him. He's been their primary defender against the opposing team's perimeter defenders. He matched up with James Harden, Jamal Murray, and Ja Morant through this stretch and held his own against elite guard talent. He's also rebounding at a much-improved rate. 7.4 rebounds per game so far, up from his 4.6 average last season.
“It’s mindset. There’s no technique that’s happening that’s been a shift,” Kerr said about Kuminga's rebounding this season.
“It’s just a desire to go get the ball over and over again. He’s doing a phenomenal job of that, and it just changes our team, you can feel it. Then I thought last night he had several plays where he could have taken a shot, instead he went dribble hand off with Steph [Curry], dived to the rim, he’s dunking the ball, like that’s the guy. So I could not be happier with JK’s play, his approach, his communication with me, with his teammates. He’s really off to a great start and I’m happy for him, happy for us because we’re a much better team when we’re playing like this.”
The flashes that made him so tantalizing and so difficult to cut bait on have stopped being flashes and have just become one constant beam of light. Whatever or whoever got through to him, after a contentious contract negotiation process over the summer, and whatever they said to him, it has worked so far. We're at a point where the idea of trading him for a different piece seems counterintuitive to what the Warriors need– size, youth, and athleticism.
The Jimmy Butler effect is immense
The way Butler's changed the Warriors on the court is obvious. He slows the game down, he gets to the free-throw line, and he helps them survive the non-Curry minutes. But he's also a big reason why the young guys like Kuminga have popped early this season. Butler made it a point to take the young guys under his wing when he arrived in the Bay. Look no further than how he talks about wanting to empower Kuminga to be the best version of himself.
“There are so many people who are in his corner. I'm one of them; there's so many other individuals in this organization, on this team, on this coaching staff as well, who want him to be great,” Butler said. He talked about how he's told Kuminga, “it's okay to make mistakes” and that he's there to keep him “level-headed.”
It's hard to believe the guy who showed up to Golden State, the self-professed “Robin” to Curry's “Batman,” had concerns surrounding his personality. His impact in the locker room might be more important than on the court. After the Clippers win, Butler talked about empowering the young guys and how it excites him.
“Us older guys are on our way out the league, these new young guys, they got potential to be great for a very long time,” Butler said. And I think it's just our job to be really good vets to them like we've had in the past, set them up for success. [And] give them all the confidence in the world, knowing that some of these key role players are going to be a reason we win a championship.”
