Draymond Green reveals Warriors' game-changing difference from last season

11/11/2024 03:45 PM

Who says Stephen Curry needs a legitimate co-star? Nearly three weeks into the regular season, the rebuilt Golden State Warriors find themselves tied atop the typically crowded Western Conference standings at 8-2.

The Dubs’ statistical profile is even more impressive. Not only is their +11.6 net rating third in the NBA, but they’re also the only team in basketball to rank fourth or better in both offensive and defensive rating. Five other teams, including the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers and reigning-champion Boston Celtics, are currently in the top-10 on each side of the ball, though none come close to matching Golden State’s two-way effectiveness.

What’s the driving force behind their dominant start to 2024-25? The Warriors’ wealth of quality, experienced depth, no surprise to anyone who’s watched Steve Kerr go at least 12-deep so far in every game his team was fully healthy. Reducing that stellar level of play to strength in numbers alone elides the utmost significance of on-court chemistry, cohesion and versatility for a team lacking league-best high-end talent.

As Draymond Green sees it, the real value of Golden State’s depth—not to mention the biggest difference between this season and 2023-24—is manifested in the viable, variable lineup combinations that Kerr can confidently go to no matter what game-by-game or possession-by-possession circumstances demand.

"The main reason depth is important is because you…remember last year? Steph and Steve talking about the lineups and just kind of running out of options of lineups that we can go to, and this year is the total opposite,” he explained after the Warriors’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “If we need to go small, we can go small. If we need to put a shooting lineup out there, we can put a shooting lineup. If we need to put a defensive lineup, we can put a defensive lineup. If we need to put a big lineup, we can put a big lineup. So it definitely makes a difference a night like tonight, where they played five guards all night pretty much. It's good we're able to have that adaptability."

What is the Warriors’ best lineup?

Kerr committed to starting De’Anthony Melton once again for Tuesday’s NBA Cup clash with Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. As long as health permits, expect the Dubs to continue starting Curry, Melton, Andrew Wiggins, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis for the foreseeable future.

But who finishes games is more important than who’s on the floor for tipoff, especially as Golden State is taking pointed efforts to limit Green’s time playing small-ball center in his mid-30s.

There will undoubtedly be some matchups—definitely the Denver Nuggets and healthy Philadelphia 76ers—when it makes most sense for the Warriors to close with another big man next to Green up front. Jackson-Davis and Kevon Looney just aren’t impactful enough offensively to be relied upon when the game bogs down in crunch-time, though. Defenses sell out even harder to stop Curry late, and points can be hard enough to come by under that duress while Green shares the floor with another non-shooter.

He’ll surely be Golden State’s primary center in clutch situations throughout the season, with obviously Curry and likely Wiggins joining him on the court when it matters most. Those other two spots are up for grabs, bound to change hands depending on real-time context.  Big picture, it’s fair to submit that Melton and Jonathan Kuminga complete the Warriors’ best crunch-time five.

That quintet played together for the first time this season in Oklahoma City, finishing out most of the second quarter before sealing the Warriors’ victory late. Golden State won’t shoot 10-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-9 from deep every time that lineup is on the floor, but its success against the Thunder—racking up a plus-minus of +11 in just 10 minutes—is instructive regardless.

None of the Warriors’ countless available lineup combinations can duplicate the two-way teeth and overall pressure presented by Curry, Melton, Wiggins, Kuminga and Green. If Tuesday’s game between Golden State and Dallas come down to the clutch, don’t be surprised to see that unit close against a Western Conference power for the second straight game.

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