Should TJD start vs Sabonis?

[EvanZ]

I think Kerr has a very interesting problem to solve here. Sabonis is not the guy you necessarily want a rookie center to go up against in a game of this magnitude and we've seen Draymond and Looney handle him. Does Kerry start TJD at center? Draymond at center and go small with Wiggins and JK? Does he start Looney? Personally I think I'm starting Wiggins/JK/Draymond.

[DonaldSanders]

I think he should start TJD, but sub Looney in before Sabonis sits, then plays TJD with our subs.

[Coxy]

Yes definitely.

[cdubbz]

I would start Looney on Sabonis.

Looney, TJD, Green, & Saric if theres foul trouble.

[B-King]

Start Looney as the meat shield and insert TJD as needed. We are going to need both to play minutes through the first three and half quarters. Second half starter will be based upon who was more effective. Draymond will close the game at the 5.

[cdubbz]

Looney can hold his ground against Sabonis, but i love how Green challenges Sabonis to hit jumpers. it also makes sure he's not camping in the paint for boards.

[floppymoose]

In crunch time you want Dray on Sabonis and TJD protecting the rim from Fox. But i prefer Loon to start the game because historically the refs call it tighter in the opening minutes, and i would rather Looney picks up those fouls.

[jozef]

What?!
I prefer Loon to sit on the bench for whole game.
TJD, Dray and JK should carry all minutes at PF and C.

[watch1958]

I think Kerr has a very interesting problem to solve here. Sabonis is not the guy you necessarily want a rookie center to go up against in a game of this magnitude and we've seen Draymond and Looney handle him. Does Kerry start TJD at center? Draymond at center and go small with Wiggins and JK? Does he start Looney? Personally I think I'm starting Wiggins/JK/Draymond.

And Klay. You forgot to include our future hall of famer.

[vvoland]

I think Kerr has a very interesting problem to solve here. Sabonis is not the guy you necessarily want a rookie center to go up against in a game of this magnitude and we've seen Draymond and Looney handle him. Does Kerry start TJD at center? Draymond at center and go small with Wiggins and JK? Does he start Looney? Personally I think I'm starting Wiggins/JK/Draymond.

And Klay. You forgot to include our future hall of famer.

You're becoming more and more like cpower - a klay troll. You really need to bring him into a conversation as to who's starting in the frontcourt against sabonis? This is actually an interesting decision that needs to be made but, as always, you'll just drag Klay into any conversation. Did he steal your girl?

[vvoland]

In crunch time you want Dray on Sabonis and TJD protecting the rim from Fox. But i prefer Loon to start the game because historically the refs call it tighter in the opening minutes, and i would rather Looney picks up those fouls.

I don't think you can start Dray and Loon - it's been a tough combo this season and not sure a 1 game playoff is the place to gamble. I think I would go with JK/Wigs/Dray as the front court but that depends a lot on how confident I am that JK can perform from the jump. And I'm probably the biggest JK fan on realgm (or real life, even accounting for family members).

I think Loon spells Dray at the 5 and if we go two bigs, it'll be Dray and TJD. This is probably the one matchup where Loon is going to be a very useful players. Not sure LAL or NOP have a matchup for Looney. OKC will, most likely, run him off the floor on both ends.

[whatisacenter]

I think this is a good topic.

It's not a no-brainer to start TJD IMO. Draymond has had his best success in the postseason surrounded by scoring threats and last year he and Looney had to be split up.

Who is Dray going to guard if TJD is on Sabonis? Barnes? And if they make it to the 8th spot to face OKC who is Draymond going to guard? Dort? Williams? And Chet is going to pull TJD out in space.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Looney did very well vs Sabonis last year.
Looney has beaten Trayce in plus minus in something like 3 of the last 4 games.

Wiggins came back from a bad early season.
Has Looney come back from a bad early season?
How far below his play against the Kings last year is the last 3 weeks version of Looney?

I wish Looney had Trayce’s mobility and ability to jump.
I wish Trayce had Looney’s experience, track record of out rebounding opponents and high basketball IQ.
Traye’s basketball IQ is very good for a rookie but he is a rookie.

I Trust Kerr to start the right guy. I don’t trust Kerr so much to adjust in game when a change is needed.
I lean towards starting Looney even though I Love Trayce and value his shot blocking.

Our board is to quick to underestimate the old and overestimate the young

Monk and Huerter the 3 point shooters are out will be replaced by 2 fast guys that might want to blow past our slow guards and take the ball to the rim where Trayce can block their shots but Looney can not block their shots. Kerr needs to be able to adjust in game.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Starting doesn't matter as much as who closes. Kerr wont trust tjd.

Curry, klay, wiggs, dray, and tjd have been our 2nd most used 5 man group since the AS break with a team best +23.2 net rtg. Elite defense. But they rarely play in the 4th quarters.

Kerr always goes to a 5 man unit with 3 of steph, klay, cp3, and podz.

In the 4th since the AS break

Cp3, klay, and podz -48.6 net rtg
Cp3, steph, klay -6
Klay, podz, steph -23

Klay -10.8 net rtg
Cp3 -3.6
Podz -3.6

It's not all bad

Steph +10.2
Dray +7.8
Wiggins +5.4

Add klay to those 3, and he becomes a plus. His minutes with the 3 g line up has hurt him.

5th can be any one of loon, jk, moody, or tjd and we are a net even or plus.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Tjd will likely start. I think the question was jk or tjd.

Poole was asked about the ability of Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins to coexist, especially as Kuminga has been dealing with knee injuries. He said that their terrible splits together improved with Draymond Green playing behind them for a stretch of the season, but that it wasn't sustainable.

"The minutes between those two were rough for a while," Poole said. 'They kind of got ironed out with Draymond. And for a while they started Draymond at the five with Kuminga and Wiggins. And it was good for a while, but it didn't work in the long run because I think Draymond had to do too much in the paint. So they made the move to Trayce Jackson-Davis.

"To me, the best Draymond is the Draymond that can kind of roll a little bit. He's not stuck to guarding one guy, and when Trayce is there, Draymond now has a guy who's behind him that he trusts a little bit.

I think this is the best Draymond. You've seen it in the past few weeks, some of the plays he's making, the way he just mucks up the opposing team's offense in so many ways. I think if he's playing with Kuminga and Wiggins, he's got to be a little bit more judicious about what he does, because those guys aren't really going to be protecting the rim behind him. So it's a little different dynamic."

While Poole doesn't believe the Wiggins-Kuminga pairing is advantageous for Green, and thus the Warriors, he added that the reason their minutes improved was because Wiggins has been more engaged. In short, the two can play together because Wiggins is playing better. They just might not be a good pairing with Green, because he can't be at his best without a center behind him.

https://www.audacy.com/957thegame/sports/golden-state-warriors/monte-poole-why-warriors-may-avoid-wiggins-kuminga-pairing

[DAWill1128]

I am skeptical if TJD can guard Sabonis, I know that Looney and Dray can. At the same time Dray getting a couple quick fouls guarding Sabonis will make it a really tough game to win. With Currys injury and Klays drop off from last year I am also skeptical if last years starting 5 can outscore the Kings late in the game.

With all this said who is playing center down the stretch probably is not as big of an issue as going really small. I feel more comfortable with Klay on Barnes/Murray than CP3 getting matched up on them where we have to provide help on the block while guarding the Fox-Sabonis pick n roll.

[RUN-TJM]

Give TJD the job. He might struggle in the PnR but will have Green helping him out. He also offers rim protection when defending Sabonis as he won’t exactly be pulled out to the 3pt line.

[oaktownwarriors87]

TJD struggles against guys that are longer and more athletic.

Sabonis can't protect the rim. Let TJD feast.

[Crazy-Canuck]

TJD struggles against guys that are longer and more athletic.

Sabonis can't protect the rim. Let TJD feast.

It's why I found it curious that they spammed the wiggins ball screen for like 5 straight plays in the jazz game. When the center came up, wiggs gave it to tj fir the dunk or lay up. If the center stays back because of the lob threat, then wiggs gets the Klay up is not an easy action for a guy like sabonis to cover because even if Barnes or Murray sink in, it leaves klay open for the 3 which also happened in the Jazz game

[Crazy-Canuck]

Give TJD the job. He might struggle in the PnR but will have Green helping him out. He also offers rim protection when defending Sabonis as he won’t exactly be pulled out to the 3pt line.

This is where gp2 being out hurts. We will need someone to slow fox down enough (not stop) for dray to come help. Who takes the fox assignment when wiggs is out?