Draymond Green and Kevon Looney aren't playing Wednesday's, and Steve Kerr has already made clear he's just pushing different lineup and rotational buttons in search of his team's best combinations. Considering Chris Paul started both of the preseason games he played in before the Golden State Warriors' matchup with the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center, though, his move to the bench for tipoff is sure to raise eyebrows across Dub Nation regardless—rightfully so, too.
The Point God will come off the bench on Wednesday night, with Jonathan Kuminga effectively taking his place in the starting lineup. Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis will start at center with Green still recovering from a sprained ankle and Looney being a late scratch due to illness.
Asked to expand on that decision before the game, Steve Kerr admitted that while Warriors are still searching for answers as the regular season looms, Paul was also moved out of the starting lineup against Sacramento to make better use of his all-around talents within the team concept.
“Conversations have been happening all throughout camp. As I said, we'll do something entirely different on Friday. All we're doing is looking at different options and different combinations,” Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Chris has been amazing every day of camp, just asking great questions, trying to fit in. He just wants to win. He wants to be part of something special and he wants to win. And I've told him we need him to be himself. He's trying to fit in, sometimes we just need him to go take four mid-range jumpers in a row if the defense is playing a certain way. So that's what we're searching for, is just the comfort zone for him and for us, and we're looking at different ways to get there.”
Chris Paul's fluid role with Warriors
There's no denying the “seamless” chemistry Paul and Stephen Curry enjoyed on the floor during Golden State's first two exhibition games. Paul already has a keen understanding of Curry's peerless ability to move off the ball, exemplified best by this beautiful impromptu give-and-go against the Los Angeles Lakers last week.
Green is the Warriors' only other playmaker who has that random mind-meld with Curry—one of the main reasons why it made sense for Paul to step into his place in the starting five once Green went down with injury. Paul will see plenty of court time with Curry in 2023-24 regardless of whether he's starting games or beginning them on the sidelines.
But the future Hall-of-Famer's greatest utility to Golden State is his all-time comfort running the show offensively. The Dubs' offense was wildly inconsistent last season with Curry off the floor, often wrecked by poor shot selection and careless turnovers. Paul's presence on second units won't just naturally mitigate those issues, but also afford the Warriors another back-pocket scoring option given his prowess taking and making mid-range jumpers in ball-screen actions.
That's the dynamic Kerr suggested was most behind Paul coming off the bench on Wednesday night. Don't overlook the inclusion of Kuminga as a starter, though.
He's been Golden State's most impressive player during the preseason, scoring from all three levels while living at the free throw line and crashing the glass with the type of controlled abandon coaches begged from him a year ago. Kuminga won't be a regular starter for the Warriors across the 82-game grind, but his insertion to the opening five versus Sacramento is nevertheless a major endorsement of his ongoing progress.
Golden State is still finding its identity, and won't know it for sure until Green returns to the lineup, fully re-acclimated. The more Kerr talks about Paul being himself, though, the more likely it seems he's bound to come off the bench for the Dubs in 2023-24.
Follow Us
Subscribe
