The Golden State Warriors have struggled with injuries to begin the new season. Draymond Green, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and others have missed games due to medical reasons. As such, Steve Kerr has been forced into multiple makeshift lineups and rotations.
When speaking to the media on Thursday (Dec. 7), Curry noted how Golden State needs to have a sustained period of health before making any decisions on potential lineup changes. Curry’s comments come hot on the heels of Kerr noting how his lineups may need to change on a game-to-game basis due to the depth of the teams’ roster and the talented younger players who have been making an impact this season.
“We haven’t had a constant stretch of the same unit together,” Curry said. “Every team wants to be at full strength for a certain period of time. So that you can get all the looks out there and figure out what works, what doesn’t work, and what lineups work. We’re still trying to form an identity with that. … Making sure where we take stock of where games started getting out of hand or the offensive flow started to get a little junky. Just because we started to do a certain look over and over again.”
The Warriors are finally nearing full strength. Gary Payton II is the only player on the injury report. As such, Kerr is getting the reps he needs with his chosen rotation, allowing him to gather data on what combinations and lineups work best.
Steph was asked if it was time to change up the offense — sounds like he believes the offense and the lineups need more continuity with its personnel before making drastic changes. pic.twitter.com/iSS9B5moWo
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) December 8, 2023
Of course, if Kerr believes a lineup change would benefit his team, then we should expect to see those changes before the All-Star break. After all, any alterations will need time to become effective, and the longer the coaching staff waits to make that decision, the tougher it will be to see the benefits.
