Should Warriors consider having Draymond or Looney come off the bench?
After solving their turnovers issues in Game 3 win, Golden State
Warriors could try staggering Draymond Green and Kevon Looney's time on
the court.
>Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) heads to the basket against
Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes (40) in the first quarter of Game 2 of
the Western Conference First Round playoffs, at the Golden 1 Center in
Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, April 17, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 23, 2023 at 4:30 a.m. | UPDATED: April 23, 2023 at 4:36
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/23/golden-state-warriors-found-a-solution-to-the-turnover-problem-in-game-3/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors will get Draymond Green back from league
suspension for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon and (likely) beyond. Down 2-1
in a series against the Sacramento Kings that could go the distance,
this team desperately needs his experience and voice back.

But the way the Warriors beat the Kings in his Game 3 absence informs
how they can best flip a stunning first-round series deficit.

Playing Kevon Looney as the one big on the floor surrounded by shooters
in Game 3 spread the floor and helped limit their turnover count to 11.
With Green back in the fold, will Golden State have one of either Looney
or Green start off the bench and stagger their minutes to help limit
turnovers and optimize the offense?

Green wasn’t into the idea that the Warriors’ offense works best with
only one of the two bigs on the court at a given time. Their 120.5
offensive rating when paired together throughout the entire regular
season supports that perspective.

“I think it’s a good theory, but I don’t think it’s actually played out
that way,” Green said. “I think the way we play, move the ball, we took
care of the ball and made great decisions and didn’t force anything.”

Green asserts that they haven’t been forcing passes, but it’s clear head
coach Mike Brown — a former Warriors assistant — has a Kings defender
playing off of either one of the non-shooters as a free safety, of
sorts, when both share the floor. That allows the defender to patrol the
passing lanes for opportunities to disrupt the Warriors’ motion offense.

With both Looney and Green on the floor this series, the Warriors have a
105.4 offensive rating — well below their 112.9 average rating — likely
because they were turning the ball over in a dismal 23.2 percent of
offensive possessions.The Warriors turned the ball over 15 times in Game
1 and 20 times in Game 2.

Ask any Warrior how they won Game 3 against Sacramento at Chase Center
and one consistent answer emerges: Limited turnovers.

A second-half comeback in Game 2 nearly came to fruition with the
Warriors playing Green as the only big until his Flagrant 2 foul and
ejection, when Looney — in foul trouble himself — took over and was
effective.

Green also pointed out that the Warriors offense hasn’t been an issue at
all this series and were shooting 64% from the field heading into Game
3. Notably, when the pair shared the court over the course of the
regular season they boasted a 120.5 offensive rating and turned the ball
over in just 14.2 percent of their offensive possessions.

But the turnovers, he cedes, are an issue.

“I don’t think our offense, per se, is what was killing us,” Green said.
“Turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds on the defensive end were
killing us. As far as our half-court offense, the half-court has been
strong all series.”

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Even so, the coaching staff might consider that staggering Green or
Looney on the court can help mitigate the turnover fiasco they’ve
highlighted as the reason for their early struggles.

“The biggest thing is, regardless of what lineup is out there, we have
to take care of the ball. We have to make better decisions and smarter
decisions,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It was one of the best part of
Steph (Curry)’s game the other night. Everybody focused on the shot
making and the points but he had four, five possessions where he had
nothing going and pulled the ball back out and got us organized. It was
just really impressive to see him control the game.

“Whether it’s Steph, Draymond, Klay (Thompson), Jordan (Poole) all of
our decision-makers on the ball, we have to be rock solid. We can’t come
down like we did in Games 1 and 2 and try all kinds of crazy stuff and
hit home runs. We have to get organized and efficient right away.”

--
Shayna Rubin | General Assignment Sports Reporter
Shayna Rubin is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter for The Mercury
News and East Bay Times. She covered the Oakland A's from 2019 to 2021
and, most recently, the Golden State Warriors' championship run in 2022.
Shayna is a San Francisco native. She is a graduate of San Francisco
State University with a BA degree in journalism and a MA degree in
broadcasting and electronic communication arts.