One night after Chris Paul declared Golden State the deepest of the five teams he has played with over his 18 NBA seasons, the Warriors went out and provided some evidence to support his claim.
With Klay Thompson and Jonathan Kuminga nursing tender knees and unavailable for the diabolical side of a back-to-back road set, coach Steve Kerr dug deep into his bench Monday night and was rewarded with a 130-102 thrashing of the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It changes everything when you can start a game off with Steph Curry,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in New Orleans. "And then bring Chris with a great second unit into the game and keep the pressure on.”
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The Warriors through three quarters built a 20-point lead that never dipped below 19 in the fourth. They did it with 10 different players, none playing fewer than 13 minutes. Rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis were summoned for their first extended NBA action and responded with efficient production.
Most encouraging for a team with such an, um, mature foundation, none of the grizzled veterans toiled more than 30 minutes. And those belonged to Curry who was busy pouring in a game-high 42 points.
“I feel good,” Curry said, “but I’m just more excited about our team and how we are putting it all together this early. The way that we are shooting, the cohesiveness, the ability to mix and match lineups, the way CP is running our second unit and infusing himself with the starters. Our bench is not only holding onto leads but building on them. It just gives us so much confidence.”
The key to stabilizing the second unit and getting closer to a consistent rotation came Sunday, when coach Steve Kerr moved Paul from the starting lineup to the bench and replaced him with Draymond Green, who was returning after missing the first two games while recovering from an ankle sprain.
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With Thompson out on Monday, Kerr could have gone back to Paul but opted to make a mildly surprising move. He called upon Moses Moody.
It was the right move insofar as Moody has played well enough to earn a chance to run with the starters. It was calculated, too, as it provided Paul with more time to orchestrate the non-Steph minutes with a second unit that on Monday included Gary Payton II, Dario Sarić and the two rookies.
“The rookies were fantastic,” Kerr said. “We’ve seen this throughout camp. Both guys can really play. We’ve been itching to get Brandin out there; Trayce we got in the other night in Sacramento, and he gave us a really good run.
“They’re constantly around the ball, anticipating plays, keeping the game simple and moving it on. It’s really exciting seeing those two young guys play.”
The rookies combined for 18 points and 17 rebounds, with Jackson-Davis adding four blocks in his 20 minutes. Both, like everyone else regardless of unit, take considerable direction from Paul.
“Chris is like a pilot. He’ll be calling for the play, calling for the ball screen when he is still at half court. He makes the game really easy, just being able to dive and make plays off him. It’s great. Playing with Steph, having to go to the ball, being open for the short roll, and being able to make plays out of that, it makes your life a lot easier.”
Yet these Warriors are so deep the two youngsters exist outside the first 10. Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, along with veteran guard Cory Joseph represent the 11th and 12th and 13th men, in the order as needed.
When everyone is healthy, Paul usually will be joined by Sarić, Payton, Kuminga and Moody. Paul is plus-39 over the last two games, Sarić plus-20 and Payton plus-30. Moody was plus-11 off the bench Sunday and plus-18 as a starter on Monday.
It’s only two games, but the Warriors appear to be as deep as they believed when they broke camp eight days ago.
“After opening night, I thought it’s going to take some time,” Kerr conceded. “We had to get Draymond back and in shape. We had to get the new guys accustomed to what we do. So, these last couple games have been really encouraging.”
On a night when the Warriors were without their No. 2 (Thompson) and No. 4 (Kuminga) scorers, they roasted a relatively rested Pelicans squad. They did it two parts Curry and eight parts everyone else.
“We have a deep team that’s really connected,” Kerr said. “They’re all having fun. They’re all supporting each other. Good start, but a long way to go.”
Well, yes, they there is. More than three months to the trade deadline, and another two months to the postseason.
Plenty of time to determine if the roster is indeed stacked with enough legitimate contributors to make a deep playoff run even if hit with the occasional aches that can afflict a “mature” team.