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The shot clock ticked down below three seconds, and De’Anthony Melton knew he had to put up a shot. He entered Thursday in a funk of 15 straight missed 3-pointers, but believes in shooting his way out of a slump.
Up Melton’s shot went, down it swished through the net. He put his hands up to the sky, a visceral sigh of relief.
Things are starting to go Golden State’s way. The 126-116 Christmas Day win over the Dallas Mavericks capped a 3-0 homestand for the Warriors (16-15), who climbed over .500 for the first time in almost three weeks. The roster is fully healthy, and head coach Steve Kerr has settled on not just a starting lineup, but also a set rotation behind it.
“We’ve been asking for that,” Steph Curry said of a more set substitution pattern. “Asking for it, but also understanding it’s been hard because of injuries, because of the revolving door of who’s available, who’s playing well, certain things that coach sees that informs his decisions. It helps when guys know who they’re out there playing with and can develop a chemistry and a rhythm. Especially offensively. Because it does change depending on who you’re out there with.”
None of the three wins have been exceptional, and the first two came with serious tumult, but the Warriors are starting to stabilize through turbulence.
“Feels like we’re in a good place,” Kerr said. “We have a rotation. We’re healthy.”
That rotation doesn’t include Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, or Seth Curry. It goes 11 deep, with Gui Santos and Pat Spencer as looming options for spot minutes. After the traditional starting-five of Curry, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Quinten Post, lineups diverge into two distinct styles — one led by Curry and Green, the other by Butler and shooters around him.
6 days ago
Tuesday, Dec. 16
Friday, Dec. 12
The formula took care of the Mavericks rather easily. Golden State led by as many as 17 and never trailed in the second half. The Warriors crashed the glass — a growing trend — for 13 offensive rebounds to generate 24 second-chance points. They shot poorly, but still hit 10 more 3-pointers than the perimeter-challenged Mavs and assisted on 33 of their 44 made field goals.
Veteran center Al Horford returned from his seven-game, sciatica-induced absence with a flamethrower. He sank four first-quarter 3s and finished with 14 points in 11 minutes. Mavericks center Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury that ruled him out for the second half, but the Warriors did plenty of damage when he was on the court.
The victory carried slightly more significance than normal because it came shortly after Green and Kerr’s heated exchange earlier in the week. All signs indicate the team has already put that incident in the past.
“I like that,” Butler said. “Y’all yell at each other. Turned me on a little bit, I’m not going to lie.”
What’s not a joke is the Warriors’ stabilizing lineups. Earlier in the season, they shuffled through starting lineups like a deck of cards. Part of the team’s catastrophic turnover issues were due to inconsistent lineups in which players were unsure of where their shots might come and how to get organized.
Things are clearer now. Butler units either run through him as the offensive focal point or start with Brandin Podziemski in the pick-and-roll; Podziemski has shaken off his naughty start with a nice December. When Butler is off the court, Curry and Green take over with their organized chaos.
In minutes with Curry and Green but no Butler, the Warriors have a +12 net rating. The inverse — Butler without the two dynastic pillars — is +12.9.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 23 points and Cooper Flagg finished with a game-high 27 for the Mavericks. | Source: Eakin Howard/Associated Press
On paper, the strategy works, and the plan is to stick with it at least through the calendar year. It requires toggling through different styles within a game, and coalescing to one with a closing lineup of Kerr’s choosing based on who’s performing well.
There’s still a lot to work on. Kerr spent a chunk of his pregame press conference opining about how the Warriors are a good, not great team now (they frankly haven’t even risen to that label for much of this season). But, he said they have a chance to repeat last season’s ascent in which they turned into the best version of themselves and had a puncher’s chance in the playoffs.
The Warriors’ offense still isn’t where it needs to be, but hanging 126 on a top-10 Mavericks defense is a sign of trending in the right direction. Turnovers remain an issue. If Moody and Post don’t hit their 3-pointers, the starting lineup won’t be sustainable.
And Green, who got ejected from one game and removed himself from the next before Christmas, remains in a funk. The Warriors have lost his minutes in every game this month, including against Dallas. His cumulative plus-minus is -69 in seven December games. His defender practically ignores him from behind the 3-point arc, sagging deep into the paint and daring him to take 3s.
The Warriors believe Green will bounce back. Struggles like this aren’t unprecedented for him, nor is recovering to regain his swagger.
A set rotation in which his minutes mirror those of Curry’s can only help.
“We’re good,” Butler said. “We finna shine.”
