Getty/Ezra Shaw Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with teammates Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson against the Utah Jazz at Chase Center in San Francisco.
With news out that restrictions were lifted for Golden State Warriors Steph Curry, the focus turned to when the former MVP would be back in the starting lineup.
Jordan Poole’s performance in Game 4 finally sizzled out as he scored 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting, and some have speculated if this would be a convenient excuse to swap back Curry with Poole in the rotation.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania broke an interesting tidbit in regards to the starting lineup for Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets. It would seem that the Warriors organization were seriously entertaining the thought to use their death lineup to start the game.
Sources: There is momentum toward the Golden State Warriors having their most lethal lineup as the starting five tonight vs. Denver in Game 5 – Stephen Curry back in, with Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. Final decision to be made today.
Over 32 minutes in the postseason, the lineup of Curry-Klay Thompson-Draymond Green-Andrew Wiggins-Poole has propelled their offensive rating to an outrageous 147.8 and a defensive rating of 113.4. That comes out to a net rating of 34.4. Obviously, the sample size is tiny, and is only matched up against the Nuggets, but teams all over the league are well aware of just how lethal these dynamic five can be.
Over the course of the series, it was always not if, but when, Curry would return to the lineup. After playing in 37 minutes in Game 4, it was pretty much implied that he was no longer on a minute restriction.
The main issue has been trying to figure out who to take out as a starter. With only 11.3 minutes per game over the first four games of the postseason, Kevon Looney is obviously the weakest link and candidate that was going to move to the bench. That meant the lineup would downsize, with Green at the five, but that could be problematic at times, like losing out on rebounds.
Tough to Take Jordan Poole Out of Starting Lineup
If looking at position specifically, Poole would probably be the one to take out in favor of Curry. However, with how efficient Poole has been shooting the ball, and making the offense hum, it really is tough to take him out of the starting lineup. In his first four games of the playoff career, Poole shot it at a blistering clip of 59.6% from the field and 51.9% from three, with averages of 24.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
“I’m not sure he goes back to the second unit,” Green told reporters on April 9. “I think that’s still to be decided, and that’s not an easy decision to make…It ain’t my decision whether he’s going back to the second unit or not, but Coach Kerr is a very smart coach and a very smart man.”
The season splits for Poole are definitely jarring, in terms of when he starts and comes off the bench. In the regular season as a starter, Poole averaged 20.8 points in 32.3 minutes compared to 13.7 points in 25.4 minutes a game.
Knowing these splits, it might not be worth it to play with fire and slot Poole back to the bench, considering how superb he has been playing.
Bob Myers Shocked by Immediate Success of Death Lineup
The Warriors only really stumbled upon this season’s version of the death lineup late in the regular season. Considering Curry, Thompson, and Green missed a good chunk of games at different junctures of the regular season, none of them really got much time this season to play together.
Warriors President of Basketball Operations, Bob Myers, was shocked at how quickly success has followed once the lineup took shape on the court.
“You’ve got to understand that they have never played together before,” Myers tells 95.7 The Game’s The Morning Roast on April 26. “Zero minutes before the playoffs. I’m surprised it looks as good as it does without any time, any buildup.”