Warriors Seek Rotation Changes Among Latest Skid

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Just a week or two ago the Warriors were one of the biggest surprises of the young NBA season. They survived a tough schedule, powered through some of the best teams in the league, and stood atop the West. Now, things aren’t so rosy.

Golden State exploded out of the gates, leveraging their star power and deep bench to earn a strong 12-3 start. However, that run feels like a lifetime ago for the young squad. They just dropped their fourth straight game in a loss to the Suns on Saturday, leading to many questions about their playstyle and overall consistency.

There are several issues that have come about for the Warriors as of late, the biggest of which being the loss of standout role player De’Anthony Melton for the season with a knee injury.

While Golden State would love to have him back, there’s no use wishing on what could have been. As we covered before at Ballislifebets, it seems the team needs to figure out a new rotation.

Shifting the starters or bench players is one of the best ways to get a shaky franchise back on track. It’s not a surefire tactic, but for a team that’s lost four in a row it’s definitely worth a try. That goes double for an all-hands-on-deck squad like the Warriors.

Almost Everyone Played in Phoenix

There are several ways to set a lineup, and coach Steve Kerr has tried most of them this year. The Warriors first succeeded by being extremely deep, with everyone contributing off the bench. Kerr achieved that by going against the grain, but now he might be getting too experimental.

He used 11 players in the first quarter against the Suns. In the second half, Moses Moody and Kyle Anderson never saw the floor, while Kevon Looney opened the second half at center in place of Tracy Jackson-Davis. Brandin Poziemski started the game as well.

In contrast, the Suns only used four players off their bench. They each played 15 minutes. That allowed the starters to find a rhythm, not look over their shoulder, and build confidence as the game went on. That’s a large reason they came away with the win.

A Need to Tighten Things Up

The Warriors’ plug-and-play approach does not seem sustainable. They only had one player off the bench (Looney) with a positive plus/minus in the recent loss. It’s too hard for anyone to find real consistency in a constantly-shifting scheme.

That being said, it’s unlikely that system is here to stay. Kerr simply wants to find a grouping that works well together. The Warriors have plenty of talent up and down their roster, but getting that talent to work together is not easy.

Kerr believes shortening opportunities may be the way to go moving forward.

“Yeah, we gotta think about shortening it,” the coach explained when discussing the wide roster. “We’ve been really looking carefully at the combinations that we play game to game, and we have a lot of options. That’s not always an easy thing. Sometimes you have too many options.”

That was certainly the case against Phoenix, and it will likely continue to be the case as long as Kerr decides to mix things up. Even the players have noticed the negative impact of the shifts, and they haven’t responded positively.

“Do we need to shorten it?” Stephen Curry asked. “We probably need to be more predictable on a night-to-night basis so guys can get a little bit of rhythm.”

Getting Everyone on the Same Page

The Warriors are sliding, but they aren’t desperate. At least, not yet. They gave some cushion from their early success, which allows them to experiment in the short term. They don’t want to try too much, however, as the losses could quickly build up.

Players like Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga just need to find their rhythm. Getting them on the floor at the right time and having them be able to play loose goes a long way. That’s especially true with Curry still battling the knee tendinitis that already sidelined him this year.

The team wants to stay ahead of that injury, which partly means putting the star guard in a rotation that works for everyone. The more they can rely on the bench, the more rest Curry can get moving forward. It’s not just about one person slotting in, it’s about everyone knowing where they stand and when they’ll play.

“It can get difficult at times to find a rhythm, kind of not knowing what to expect from game to game,” Looney said in an interview. “But I think the guys are doing a good job of staying ready. Everybody knows they're going to get in at some point…I think with this group we know he’s going to play all of us at some point and we just have to be ready.”