Playoff rotation could debut in pivotal game vs. Lakers
Team has four games left to up its play-in spot
A path for the Warriors to climb up the play-in standings remains, and it begins with beating the Lakers in Los Angeles tonight.
Although the Warriors' loss to the Mavericks changed the team's calculus in a loaded Western Conference, the team still knows that a perfect finish to the season could make a huge difference.
“Control what we can control, which is going 4-0,” said Brandin Podziemski. “Obviously, we have a chance to play the Lakers and Pelicans, who are ahead of us…If we can control what we can control and go 4-0, that'll put us in pretty good shape to get above the 10th seed.”
If Andrew Wiggins, who's day-to-day with a sprained ankle, returns to the lineup, the Warriors (43-35) will come into Crypto.com Arena fully healthy and with their new rotation that has helped them play their best stretch of basketball this year. They've won seven of eight games with a core starting lineup of Wiggins, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. With dueling bigs, they've rocketed up the defensive rating charts and can comfortably go 10 deep.
In a year Steve Kerr has been constantly searching for the right combinations, it seems like Golden State has settled on one at the right time.
“We want to keep starting Draymond and Trayce for defensive rebounds,” Kerr said after the Warriors' blowout against Utah.
In 49 minutes played, the starting group of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and JacksonDavis has outscored opponents by 25.1 points per 100 possessions. They haven't had a fully healthy roster since that starting group coalesced, since its inception was Kuminga's injury.
With Green and Jackson-Davis on the floor together, the Warriors have an elite 98.8 defensive rating. Jackson-Davis allows Green to play more instinctually and take more risks with doubleteams and rotational positioning. Jackson-Davis, the 57th overall pick, has flashed brilliance as a rim protector and lob threat, giving Golden State the kind of vertical dimension they once hoped James Wiseman would provide.
To play the two centers, the Warriors must surround them with shooting. They brought Thompson back into the starting fold after trying him with the second unit for long stretches of the year. Wiggins was playing much better on both ends before his recent sprained ankle.
Jonathan Kuminga returned to the court on Sunday night after missing six games with knee tendinitis, but he'll likely come off the bench for the rest of the year if the Warriors have their full roster available.
Kuminga's outside shooting inability makes him a tough fit alongside both Green and JacksonDavis. He said all the right things about the prospect of coming off the bench, and his athleticism could work wonders in the second unit.
“I think we can play fast, but there's also a good mix of Chris (Paul) playing how he plays in the half court,” Podziemski said. “Getting JK his touches where he likes the ball, and I think the combination of that bodes well for us.”
That's the group the Warriors will deploy against the Lakers, with the head-to-head tiebreaker at stake.
Last time the Warriors played the Lakers, Anthony Davis' eye injury that knocked him out of the first half dramatically changed the game. Without Davis, the Warriors had much more space to operate and many more opportunities in the paint. LeBron James tried to carry the Lakers, finishing with 40/9/8, but the Warriors held off Los Angeles late.
James missed Los Angeles' Sunday game with an illness and Davis left early after re-aggravating his eye injury. If both of them return tonight, the game would be a starstudded, compelling playin preview.
The Warriors trail the Lakers by 1.5 games in the standings. The ninth seed hosts the 10th in the playin round, with the winner playing the loser of the 7-8 contest for a chance at a playoff series.
A loss to the Lakers would essentially put the Warriors into the 10th seed, which would incentivize the team to rest their best players so they're fresh for a grueling playoff stretch.
“There are so many scenarios,” Steve Kerr said. “The Dallas game hurt for us, because if we could've pulled that one off, I think we had a shot to even climb up to seven or eight. We're still behind the eight-ball a little bit, but we're just going to keep trying to win and see what happens.”
With four games left, the Warriors are bound to exceed their win total of 44 from last year. In a weaker West, that was good enough for the sixseed. Now, they're likely to win even more games and still be grounded in the sudden death play-in round.
An undefeated finish would get the Warriors to 47-35. They'd be winners of 11 of 12 entering the postseason, with their one loss coming to the contending Mavericks on a missed Thompson buzzer beater.
A finishing kick, or downshift, to the last week of the season will depend on how they play in Los Angeles.
“We know how hard it is to win in LA,” Thompson said. “We can do it, we've done it before. So, it'd be nice to go 4-0, that'd be a nice cherry on top to a good regular season.”