Chris Paul‘s addition to the Golden State Warriors has raised many questions. One of the more prominent ones is how Paul will fit into the Warriors’ offensive system.
Paul is primarily a pick-and-roll point guard who is at his best with the ball in his hands. The Warriors have run a motion-based offense under Steve Kerr.
Buy Warriors TicketsOn Oct. 3, when speaking to the media following the Warriors’ first official practice session, Kerr discussed the compromises that must be made to get the best out of Paul, as The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported. The Warriors’ head coach noted how both sides must meet “halfway” for the offense to gel together.
“We’re going to run plenty of pick-and-roll because Chris is one of the best pick-and-roll players in the world,” Kerr said. “But he’s also showing he’s very interested in incorporating some of the stuff we already do — our split cut game and our movement. He’s such a smart player that he’s already figured out ways to be effective. We’re going to lean into him and he’s going to lean into us, and we’ll meet halfway and the offense will form.”
Judging by Kerr’s comments, it seems we will see a different offensive system from Golden State this season, at least when Paul is on the floor. Fortunately for the Warriors, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are selfless off-ball players who utilize their movements to create scoring opportunities for others.
Still, it will be interesting to see how the offense works when both Curry and Paul are on the floor and whether it can help take the Warriors to a new level and potentially see them dominate the Western Conference.
