Kerr wastes no time in using his ‘death lineup’
OAKLAND >> The option remains Steve Kerr’s biggest trump card to use through times of uncertainty and strife.
Usually, though, the Warriors coach waits until crunch time before showing his cards. Usually, Kerr waits until the NBA Finals before fully showing his hand.
In the first game of the 2019 NBA playoffs, though, Kerr did not wait. He showcased his so-called Death Lineup to stop the Los Angeles Clippers’ second-quarter surge that became a significant turning point in the Warriors’ Game 1 victory of their first-round series. And given that Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have won two consecutive NBA titles partly by playing together, Kerr could feature them well before crunch time in Game 2 tonight at Oracle Arena.
“It’s the best five-man unit in the league,” Kerr said. “We’ll play that lineup more often than in the regular season because we have days off in between. It’s what we do.”
The unspoken consequence of this move? This might come at the expense of DeMarcus Cousins’ playing time in his first NBA playoffs appearance after toiling in Sacramento’s mediocrity (2010-2017) and suffering a season-ending left Achilles tendon injury in New Orleans (2017-18).
The other unspoken consequence of this move?
For a coach that believes in fielding a deep rotation, Kerr might change course. After the Warriors held a 38-27 first-quarter lead, Kerr opened the second quarter with a staggered unit featuring Thompson and Cousins along with Iguodala, Quinn Cook and Shaun Livingston. Then, the Clippers went on a 10-2 run by relying on Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams, whom Green called “their two best players” after eventually combining
for 51 points.
Andrew Bogut made a brief apppearance to match up on Harrell. Once Harrell left the game, Kerr went with his Death Lineup. After entering the game with a 43-42 lead with 6:37 left in the second quarter, that unit created a 60-54 cushion with 1:29 remaining. Kevon Looney then gave Green a breather, and helped the Warriors close the half with a 9-2 run. Looney eventually finished a plus-minus of +30, which measures a players’ on-court impact.
The Warriors’ Death Lineup yielded a high offensive rating (140) because, as Curry observed, “we always play faster with a lot of different playmakers.” They finished with a low defensive rating (93.7) because, as Curry noted,” that group is “a little more versatile.” Iguodala had a +17 in plus-minus.
“We have a lot of different looks that we can go to,” Curry said. “We’ve got to be able to adjust on the fly when those lineups happen and just play with confidence and play together.”
• Following Game 1, Kerr rewatched the moments leading up to Durant and Patrick Beverley receiving ejections. Kerr then reached
this conclusion about official Ed Malloy.
“I’m not sure anybody deserved to get kicked out of the game,” Kerr said Sunday. “It didn’t look that bad.”
Durant opened the first game of the NBA playoffs with two technicals, five shy of receiving a one-game suspension. Durant has also collected more technicals this season (15) and last season (14) than what he received during his first five NBA seasons combined (10). After increasing his technicals with Oklahoma City in 2012-13 (12) and 2013-14 (16), Durant dropped those numbers with the Thunder in 2014-15 (four) and 2015-16 (eight) and in Golden State in 2016-17 (eight).
How can Durant avoid more technicals moving forward?. While Kerr acknowledged “the challenge” in ensuring such behavior does not inhibit his competitive spirit, the Warriors’ coach simply advised “you have to ignore” Beverley’s baiting tactics.
“You got to understand that we’re under the microscope,” Kerr said. “If they’re going to call things pretty close, we just have to ignore that stuff and take care of business.”
Unlike other incidents, Durant did not collect his recent technicals for becoming angry with an official or with Beverley.
When Beverley played him physically or mocked him verbally, Durant often smiled and mocked back at him. Even when Beverly fouled him from behind with 5:00 minutes left in the game, Durant smiled and mockingly clapped at Beverley. No matter. Both players received a technical. Nearly 19 seconds later, Beverley fumbled a pass near midcourt, prompting Durant to shove Beverley with his hips out-ofbounds. When Beverley fell to the floor, Durant hovered over and taunted him with a smile on his face.