SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr had to try something new again.
Saturday, that meant drawing up his 11th different starting lineup of the season. Chris Paul was back in for rookie Brandin Podziemski to get Steph Curry going early and Trayce Jackson-Davis got his first NBA start at center for Kevon Looney to add some size and athleticism defensively.
The change hardly paid off. MVP hopeful Luka Doncic made a mockery of the Warriors' defense, putting up 39 points and exploiting the many rotation miscommunications in a 132-122 Warriors loss on Saturday night. Chris Pauls 24-point night was short of filling the void left of Curry's cold first half and Klay Thompson's ice-cold game in which he went 1-of-11 from the field.
The Warriors have enviable depth to try a new look every minute, but no group of five in the mosaic of lineups that hit the floor has any flow. Of the dozens of lineups Kerr has thrown out there, only one lineup — Curry, Thompson, Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney — have played more than 100 minutes together and have been outscored by a total 23 points this year.
Now with a 15-17 record, 8-17 against teams with a record above .500, hanging out with the Western Conference's rebuilders and straight bottom-feeders, it's time to ask if this roster as it stands has the juice to compete with the NBA's big dogs.
"I think they have good chemistry," Kerr said. "They get along well, but we haven't found that grit that every good team needs where you pull together and are just playing for the group. We're not there yet. And that's a problem."
Curry and Draymond Green spent much of the offseason organizing players only camps and dinners everywhere from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to exterminate every bit of bad vibe left from Green's punch of Jordan Poole and a tumultuous season last year. With all that effort and two engaged rookies in Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, the off-court chemistry is no concern. The problem is on-court chemistry.
"It's difficult to describe, but you can feel when a team is connected, competing together," Kerr said. "Everybody's energy is right…One of the things I think about all the time as a coach is every guy in that locker room has a unique set of circumstances and every one of them is under tremendous pressure to perform."
This isn't about individual agendas, Kerr said, but lack of collective purpose. Green's troubles staying off of suspension have been the biggest wrench in both the off- and on-court dynamic. He's the key that unlocks Curry on offense and the voice that keeps the defense from falling into dysfunction.
"I think we just have to get a little bit more aggressive on both ends," Paul said. "Of course in this league with the high scoring every night, it's almost like whoever is going to impose their will defensively is going to have a better chance. I think we have to get better and more connected on the defensive end."
Green's return, date still unknown, fixes the glaring issues only in theory. He's played 15 games and, in them, the Warriors are 7-8.
Though the offense appears to keep up nightly, putting itself in a league-leading 25 crunch-time games, there's no promise anyone not named Curry can come up with the needed secondary scoring. Much of the three-game losing streak is tied to Curry's corresponding inefficiency, where he's averaging 18.7 points and 30.6% from 3. Curry is used to the traps and double teams, but the Warriors' success depends on both getting Curry open looks and others stepping up to fill the need.
They get that in spurts with no consistency from any individual or group; Thompson shot 44% from 3 and averaged 21.3 points per game over eight games between Dec. 12 and 25, but was benched late on Saturday due to a poor shooting night that's been the theme for him most of the year.
Andrew Wiggins, after a troubling start to the year, has come to life since his removal from the starting lineup, but isn't shooting well from 3 and is missing too many bunnies at the rim. Jonathan Kuminga is coming into his own as a downhill threat, Podziemski is shooting 44.1% from 3 and Jackson-Davis gives them a nice lob threat and touch at the rim.
Dario Saric is serving his role as a spot-up shooter well hitting 38.9% of his 3s and averaging 10.5 points per game. Paul ties it all together with 7.4 assists per game while he's starting to get more aggressive with his famed midrange shot. Moses Moody lost his spot in the rotation just by virtue of a roster crunch.
"We've experimented a lot, some for forced reasons and some for stirring and searching for an identity of what our strengths and weaknesses are," Curry said. "We haven't found it collectively so it's frustrating, for sure."
In parts and individually, the Warriors have a winning roster. Thrust together in frenzied lineups, all that individual talent doesn't congeal into a collective winner. Perhaps there's some unfamiliarity involved — as Saric pointed out describing how the team is figuring out to get Curry going:
"When Draymond is here, he understands the role better than the rest of us who (have been) here for one year right now," he said on Friday. "(We're) getting to know each other and how to play."
Paul assured the Warriors will "figure it out" — it, being the team's identity. But how long can the Warriors and Curry, who turns 36 in March, wait?
The trade deadline is little more than a month away and the trade block isn't brimming yet, but general manager Mike Dunleavy is keeping an eye on how the next 10-15 games unfold to determine how aggressive they'll be at the deadline. If they're active, could the front office seek out a way to free up some of the depth in search of a secondary scorer next to Curry this year and beyond? If not, and until then, the Warriors will just keep looking for their identity.
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