After taking a tough loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves two nights before and Andrew Wiggins ruled out, the Golden State Warriors had to make a lineup change in their second matchup, and it proved to be successful. Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield were inserted into the starting lineup, Draymond Green was moved to center, and the Warriors ended up winning the game 114-106.
At the end of the game, head coach Steve Kerr revealed the secret behind the new starting lineup, and what they wanted to accomplish with it.
“Without Wiggins, we wanted to start Gary on [Anthony Edwards] and just have our best defender on him right away,” Kerr said. “Gary's also historically good with Steph, and then we just felt like we had to get Buddy going. The best way to do it is to put him out there with that group. If Buddy is out there with Steph, that makes the game easier for him. That's why we went the route we did. It took us a little bit of time but it opened up the game for us and our guys just stayed with it eventually and started hitting shots.”
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Though Edwards finished the game with 27 points, Payton did his best to limit him as much as he could. For Hield, he had one of those hot-shooting games that he had earlier in the season, finishing with 27 points and 7-of-13 from three.
“I think he liked the numbers,” Hield said. “I don’t know whatever it is. I think we play faster. It worked out today, for sure. But whenever I’m out there with Steph, Dray, Gary, JK on the floor, it’s always open. Teams got to pick their poison.”
Warriors find something in new lineup vs. Timberwolves
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts after the call against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at Chase Center.
Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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Steve Kerr has been tinkering with the entire lineup since the beginning of the season. He's been using a 12-man lineup which has proved to be successful, and has had players in and out of the starting lineup. In their first matchup against the Timberwolves, Kerr brought Draymond Green off the bench to maximize Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins together in the starting lineup.
The second time around, Green started at center, and the plan was to put pressure on the Timberwolves in transition. The plan worked, and Green put the game to rest, going downhill on Rudy Gobert for a dunk.
The Warriors have shown this season that they have several options at their disposal, but it will be interesting to see if Kerr continues to use this lineup or if he'll go back to the one that he's been using for most of the year.