This was always the lineup configuration that made the most sense and it was expected the Warriors would get to it. The question is how long it would take.
Turns out, not long. In his return from a sprained ankle Draymond Green will start for the Golden State Warriors while Chris Paul will come off the bench for the first time in his career, reports Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (Anthony Slater of The Athletic was first).
Chris Paul is coming off the bench for the first time in his NBA career. With Draymond Green’s return, Steve Kerr is sticking with the best starting five in basketball from last season
Warriors starters vs. the Rockets
Steph
Klay
Wiggins
Draymond
Looney— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 29, 2023
Coach Steve Kerr said that Green will be on a minutes limit in his return, so expect short shifts (five minutes or so) with him playing key minutes of the game as needed.
CP3 coming off the bench always seemed the smart basketball move. The Warriors regular starting five — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Green and Kevon Looney — had a ridiculously good +22.1 net rating last season (via Cleaning the Glass). Where the Warriors struggled for years has been the non-Curry minutes, and Paul was brought in to boost those (the Warriors are +3 through two games with Curry off the court). Paul will close some games, get plenty of starts as Curry and Thompson get nights off, but this is the flow that made the most sense if he was at the point in his career that he could accept it.
It appears he is.
