This will be one of the NBA’s top stories heading into training camp next month:
Will Chris Paul start for the Warriors or come off the bench?
While coach Steve Kerr “We’re just going to look at all kinds of different combinations in camp,” ESPN’s Mark Spears said in an appearance on the show, kicking the can down the road. Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill podcast, “Good Words with Good Intentions” (tip of the hat USA TodayHe has heard that Paul starts and plays in short spurts.
“I expect him to start. And I think it’s like five-minute spurts. I don’t know if they really want him to get a lot of minutes, but I think they’ll try it. I could be wrong. , but that’s true. That’s the point I get. That’s not the opinion he’s expected to start. That’s what I’m hearing. He’s never started in his career.”
If it was just a basketball decision, an easy one, CP3 would come off the bench. The Warriors could start the same five games from last season – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green And Kwon Looney – It was one of the best combinations in the league and had a net score of +22.1 (Through glass cleaning). For context, that lineup was nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better than that Denver Nuggets Start five
However, coaching an NBA team is about much more than Xs and Os – it’s more about buying and managing characters. Paul’s reaction to a reporter about playing with the second unit – “Do you coach?” – suggested that he is not ready to give up the role of starter. At least not now. It might be easier in the Warriors locker room in the short term for Paul to start, play a “short hop” and then come out and come back with only the second unit. One of the main reasons the Warriors need CP3 This is to support the second unit, which fell off a cliff a few years ago when Stephen Curry was sitting.
What really matters is who is on the court for the Warriors to close games, and CP3 needs to work his way into that five.
Also, here’s what the Warriors’ starting five looks like when they host the suns On opening night, Oct. 24, and what it looks like on Christmas Day against the Nuggets — or when the playoffs begin — could be very different.
If the Warriors can incorporate Paul into their rotation, see a step forward from Thompson (another year removed from injuries), get him strong play off the bench. Jonathan Cuminga And Dario SaricAnd if Curry is blind, the Warriors are a threat to win it all. They don’t have the margin for error they did in their prime, but if CP3 can be one of the things that comes together for these Warriors, they are legitimate contenders.