Stars welcome the support of deep lineup
The Golden State Warriors starting Gary Payton II in Game 1 of the Western Conference semis Sunday was one of the gutsiest chess moves in NBA playoffs history, but it was an easy call for coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr knows this: While the Warriors’ greatness, past and present, is built on the Core Four of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the currently-injured Andre Iguodala, this team can’t go all the way to glory without a strong contribution from the Kiddie Core — Payton, Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga,
Maybe Kiddie Core doesn’t quite fit as a nickname. Although all three are playoff newbies, Payton is 29 and Poole is in his third NBA season.
So let’s call them the Surprise Package.
Poole isn’t the league’s Most Improved Player, but he has to be the MSP — Most Surprising Player. Even Kerr admits he didn’t forsee Poole reaching this level of play. Kuminga spent the first half of this season, and the first three games of the playoffs, wondering if he’d ever get off the bench. Payton’s arrival as a key contributor is a shock.
These three are more than just a good story. They are an essential supporting cast to the original Core. But the Surprise Package is still on trial. They will have to prove themselves all over again Tuesday night in Game 2. They have, however, earned the respect of Kerr and of their teammates, and that’s a big start.
Here’s an example of what these fellows bring to the party:
Fourth quarter Sunday, two minutes left, Warriors trail the Grizzlies 112-110. Curry misses a 3-point attempt from the top of the arc. Andrew
Wiggins, crashing hard from the left wing, tips the rebound toward the free-throw line, but right at Ja Morant. As Morant reaches for the ball, Payton launches himself, dives and pokes the ball to Jordan, who instantly passes to Wiggins under the hoop for a dunk.
Poole, whose goggles (court vision) are underrated (9 assists Sunday), also assisted on the game-winning shot, Thompson’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left. And let’s not forget how Poole set a tone for the previous series in Game 1 against the Nuggets with two stunning behind-theback-pass assists.
The rise of these three guys says a lot about each of them individually, but it also says a lot about the Core, and Kerr. Somehow, the Warriors have woven
the Surprise Package into the fabric of the team.
TNT commentator Mark Jackson spoke to that during Sunday’s telecast. Referring to Poole, Jackson said of the Core Three, “They saw (Jordan’s) growth and saw how much easier life can be with him. I’ve seen it in the history of this game, (stars) say, ‘Oh, no, this is our show, stay in your place.’ It allowed him to develop.”
The Core Four have essentially said to Poole, Kuminga and Payton, Our casa is su casa.
That’s out of generosity of spirit, and necessity. For Warriors to win this series, they will have to contain Morant, at least keep him below a subsonic level, and Payton is the No. 1 option for that task.
Coming into this series,
Kerr said of Payton, “He’s built for the playoffs.” I didn’t get a chance to ask Kerr to elaborate, but that’s a heavy statement to make about a player who has been nothing more than a fringe NBA guy for years.
If you’re a nobody from nowhere, like Payton, could there be a finer compliment?
Now it’s looking like Poole might be in that same made-for-playoffs mold. His 31-point, 9assist outing Sunday was monstrous for the Warriors because it signaled that Poole survived his first playoffs crisis — two poor games against the Nuggets — and reclaimed his mojo.
Maybe Poole never doubted himself, but many were wondering if his star had bumped into a glass ceiling.
Kuminga may have showed enough Sunday to earn a continuing small-but-significant role. Sunday he played about half of the second and fourth quarters, and had six points and six rebounds. One good sign: In a chokeable moment for a rookie, Kuminga nailed two free throws.
This series is billed as a contest between the old, cagey Warriors and the youthful, athletic and hungry Grizzlies. That’s a bit of exaggeration. The OG Core is playing with youthful energy. But what Payton, Poole and Kuminga did in Game 1 and will try to do again Tuesday is close the youth/ energy gap between the two teams, and potentially obliterate it.
For the Grizzlies, that’s a nightmare scenario, and an unpleasant surprise.