What we learned as Warriors’ red-hot shooting propelled preseason victory originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors coach Steve Kerr sidelined Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on Sunday, and not because they were facing the perennially struggling Detroit Pistons.
The reasoning was twofold. First, to give the decorated vets their usual one-game absence during preseason. Two: to see what the Warriors would look like without them.
“I want to see all our young guys,” Kerr said two hours before tipoff. “I want them to take the next step and play well together, play for each other, all that stuff.”
The coach got what he wanted as the Warriors took a double-digit lead late in the first quarter and cruised to a 111-93 win at Chase Center.
Six Warriors scored in double figures, led by Moses Moody’s 14 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Here are three takeaways from the game that saw Golden State run its preseason record to 4-0:
The budding relationship with the Triple
When their offseason star search came up empty, the Warriors turned to the most important force in today’s NBA. They added guys who can stroke it from deep.
It was evident in the first three games of the preseason, but in this game the Pistons blew away. The Warriors made 10 of their first 11 shots from beyond the arc and finished 18 of 39, a 46.2 3-point percentage. It was more than enough to offset the 45.8 percent of pedestrians who shot from the arc.
Nine different players drained at least one triple, with Buddy Hield scoring a game-high four from distance, while Jonathan Kuminga and Lindy Waters III each made three. Rookie center Quinten Post made his first triple of the preseason with a two-way contract.
The Warriors entered the game averaging 44.7 three-point attempts per game, trailing only Boston and Minnesota. Their percentage of 38.8 also ranked third. They are now shooting 40.5 percent from deep.
Get used to it, folks. The Warriors have long been enamored with three-point shooting. Now, with their updated selection, they’re falling in love with it.
More lineup roulette
In their fourth preseason game, coach Steve Kerr introduced his fourth starting lineup – and the first without Curry or Green.
The starters: De’Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski, Kuminga, Moody and Jackson-Davis. All five had started at least one of the three previous matches.
What did it look like? There were choppy moments, especially on offense, but they were offset by superior three-point shooting and rebounding.
The good: Although Melton didn’t shoot well, he made several subtle contributions that benefited his team, most notably some smart passing that resulted in five assists in his first 15 minutes. Jackson-Davis managed three blocks, two of which came in one possession.
The bad: Podziemski had four turnovers in the first half, most of them on forced passes. Melton didn’t shoot particularly well early on, going 2-for-9 from the field in the first half and finishing 2-for-11, including 1-for-4 from deep.
Summary: The only way this starting lineup will be seen again is if it is affected by injury or rest.
Friend Scared
The Warriors pursued and acquired Hield in hopes he could provide space and fill much of the shooting void left by the departure of Klay Thompson.
So far, the eight-year veteran has been up to the task.
Hield scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field, including 4-for-6 from distance. Through four games, he is averaging 12.2 points per game on 18-of-30 shooting, including an astonishing 13-of-22 from beyond the arc.
Hield played 13 minutes against the Pistons, totaling 66 minutes in four preseason games. He has scored 53 points in that span, shooting 60.0 percent overall and 59.1 percent from deep.
When coach Steve Kerr experimented with Thompson as Golden State’s sixth man last season, it was mainly to have firepower off the bench and regulate Klay’s minutes. Now that Thompson is out, it’s almost certain that that role will go to Hield.
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