Warriors’ season-opening loss to Suns reveals intriguing lineup option originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Just about halfway through the third quarter of the Warriors’ season-opening 108-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at Chase Center, Jonathan Kuminga hit his second straight free throw to cut Golden State’s halftime deficit down from 15 points to only one.
What happened next is perhaps the brightest spot of a loss determined by runs from both teams.
The Warriors then went on a 9-0 run, and 11-2 overall, before making any changes to the group on the floor. All that was done with Steph Curry on the bench battling foul trouble, too. The lineup coach Steve Kerr employed over a 2-minute, 15-second stretch was one that featured two new Warriors, plus a player the team desperately missed last season.
Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga, Gary Payton II and Dario Šarić took the Warriors from looking up at the Suns to holding a seven-point lead. Kerr doesn’t remember using that lineup at all in the preseason, but it’s one he certainly took note of after the first regular-season game.
“I think that was when Steph got into foul trouble,” Kerr said Thursday after practice. “And that’s the beauty of having this kind of depth. I’m not sure, I don’t think we played that combination at all in the preseason. But Chris makes most combinations better. He just ties the game together.”
After a first half where Paul missed all six of his shot attempts, he was the driving force behind the Warriors’ 40-point third quarter. In that 2-minute-plus timespan alone, he scored seven of the Warriors’ 11 points and came down with two rebounds.
Everything started with the jolt Payton always brings defensively, locking down star Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, whose 32 points led both teams. Payton used his physicality on Booker and active arms in the paint to jump a pick-and-roll intended for center Jusuf Nurkić, which led to a three-point play by Paul attacking Nurkić on the other side to give the Warriors the lead.
Golden State’s next scoring sequence came from Kuminga stretching out his right arm to outrebound Josh Okogie, and Paul being a veteran pest against his former team and one of his closest friends to get to the line for two more points.
Chris Paul doing what Chris Paul does got Devin Booker for a foul that sent Paul to the free throw line. He made both to give the Warriors a 4-point lead pic.twitter.com/sRAyhGmUAp
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 27, 2023
Kuminga tracking in the ball and using his strength and athleticism in a different way gave the Warriors two more points before Paul once again took advantage of the 7-foot Nurkić having to defend the much quicker point guard.
Chris Paul took advantage of Jusuf Nurkic being switched onto him again for another 3-point play to cap off this group’s 11-2 run pic.twitter.com/aDdHeyGdbJ
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) October 27, 2023
Thompson didn’t need to score once to take back the lead. Neither did Šarić or Payton. Šarić is used to seeing how Paul can positively affect a game from their time together in Phoenix, but the stretch big has been wowed with what Payton brings to the Warriors.
“He’s probably one of the best defensive players, especially on the perimeter, that I’ve ever played with,” Šarić said. “He’s giving us force defensively. It’s easier to guard pick-and-roll when you have the kind of guard who can avoid the screens, be really present on the boards and be active on the ball. I really enjoy playing with him. He’s a great guy and he’s playing with amazing force — with heart.
“He leaves his heart on the floor every game on the court.”
Payton scored one point and was 0-of-5 shooting, yet his plus/minus was a game-high plus-15.
Speed, spacing, shooting, smarts and clamping the opposition’s offense.
A group of Paul, Thompson, Kuminga, Payton and Šarić gave Kerr a little bit of everything. And a lot to think about.
“What I like about that particular group, you get the defense and athleticism on the ball with Gary and JK,” Kerr said. “You get the shooting from Klay and Dario. Playmaking from Chris and Dario together in pick-and-roll. That was a nice combination.”
The early portion of the season will be a daily test in Kerr trying to find the best rotations and combinations to be successful, and he might already have found one that brings a dash of whatever these Warriors need.
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