Man Utd VAR incident 'embarrassing' and 'clearly wrong' says former referee
'The incident was embarrassing.'
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Warriors have found their starting lineup
The Warriors are 8-0 in games Moses Moody starts.
š Click Here to read in detail š
SACRAMENTO ā In a season in which the Warriors have used 33rd different starting lineups, theyāre gearing up for their push toward the sixth seed with a concrete idea for continuity in the starting-five.
Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Draymond Green. Thatās the five Steve Kerr wants to roll out for the rest of the year, as long as they stay healthy and keep playing the way they have been.
āI imagine weāll stay with this lineup, and I hope so, because weāve had a million different starting lineups this year,ā Steve Kerr said after the Warriors waxed the Kings. āItād be really nice to stick with this for the rest of the season.ā
Starting Green at center is bold, and itās a move the Warriors were reticent to make earlier this year. But in a sprint toward the playoffs in the final third of the season, concerns about wearing Green down take a back seat.
Butler, at 6-foot-7, is actually the tallest player in the lineup. His and Greenās physicality and instincts can make up for lost height on both ends of the court.
The main theme coming out of the Warriorsā locker room after their win over Sacramento was limiting turnover. Butler described taking care of the ball as maximizing their āshots on goal,ā referencing soccer.
Butler settles down possessions by bullying his way to the line. Heās a player the Warriors can give the ball to at the end of the shot clock to save them. He plays off two feet, giving him the ability to make decisions in the lane without getting caught in the air.
āWe always talk about as long as we donāt turn the ball over, weāre always going to be in a great position to win,ā Butler said. āBecause we know weāre going to score. Itās only when we get careless with the ball, thatās when teams come back in the game, thatās when everybodyās body language changes. So, shots on goal.ā
The Warriors are 4-1 with Butler, who has immediately given them a sense of confidence and swagger.
But when it comes to the starting lineup, the Warriors were always going to include Curry, Butler and Green. Theyāre their three best players. Finding the two around them that make the most sense is the tricky part.
Moody has staked a real claim. After three seasons of rotational tug-of-way, he has established himself as a glue-guy, floor-spacer around the Warriorsā star playmakers. Golden State is 8-0 in games Moody starts, including on Friday night when he set a season-high with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
āI think just the confidence thatās come from consistent playing time and minutes,ā Kerr said of Moody. āAnd heās a good fit. Playing next to BP, Steph, Jimmy, Draymond, those guys are all playmakers. He can play the role heās most comfortable in, which is space the floor, let it fly when heās open, play hard, compete.ā
Podziemski at the off-guard position gives the group another initiator. His off-ball movement against Sacramento was excellent, and Green raved about him getting up 20 shots. The Warriors often plead for him to shoot, and he certainly got the notice against the Kings.
Since returning from his abductor strain a month ago, Podziemski has looked every bit the kind of player Golden State expected him to be after his strong rookie season.
Around Butler, Podziemski and Moody slot into roles they can really thrive in.
āI think itās coming into shape well because Moses is playing great and BP is playing great,ā Green said. āThose two guys playing the way theyāre playing, itās really elevated all our lineups, but in particular that lineup.ā
Even when Jonathan Kuminga returns from his severe ankle sprain, Kerr anticipates sticking with Podziemski and Moody in the starting lineup. Kuminga was coming off the bench before his injury, while he was playing the best basketball of his career. As long as heās playing heavy minutes, starting or being a sixth man doesnāt matter to the fourth-year wing.
Kerrās preferred starting lineup has a 4.8 net rating ā third best on the team among combinations that have played at least 30 minutes together.
āI like it,ā Butler said. āI do. Youāve just got some feisty individuals out there fighting, scrapping on both sides of the ball. Small or not, weāre getting it done.ā
