Warriors have a Steve Kerr problem

[Romulus]

Some years, the roster has been so poorly constructed that Kerr hasn't had much of a choice. At times, all we've had at center is Looney. And at times, we haven't had anyone to play the 4 when Draymond sits. Now? You have TJD and Looney who both have been good. Yes, there's no offense there, but both have helped get rebounds as well as provide some rim protection (in TJD's case). Slow-Mo Anderson has been a solid contributor when allowed to play. In fact, Warriors have a very good record when Anderson is allowed to play 15 minutes or more. Additionally, Kerr could play Moody at the 2, a bigger guard who offers better size and defense than Podz, Lendy Waters, or Shroeder.

But Kerr is still sticking with playing Draymond way too many minutes at the 5, causing the ripple effect of Kuminga or Wiggins playing the 4, and throwing out his TINY 3 guard lineup. Kerr is intentionally ignoring other options and prefers to make the Warriors perhaps the smallest team in NBA history. Draymond is getting torched at the 5, the paint is wide open, and even when they manage to have a good defensive possession, they can't get a rebound. And this isn't to even mention how bad this unit has been offensively (supposedly the reason you play tiny).

None of this makes sense. None of it. Get bigger. TJD starting has helped. He's rebounding, blocking shots, and can roll on the pick and roll. Looney has slimmed down this year and was also contributing much more this season than last and yet he hasn't even gotten to play in the last few weeks.

And it would be one thing if the team was winning games. Instead, we all know they're falling like a rock. This tiny obsession of Kerr's is actually destroying this team. Stop playing TINY. Stop the small ball. You're getting blitzed.

If Kerr is really this stubborn, then there has to be a change made.

[floppymoose]

All “when X is allowed to play” analysis is suspect .

X is allowed to play when X has a situation that works for them. If you play them in other situations, they stink.

Kyle freakin Anderson is not the answer.

[Onus]

Some years, the roster has been so poorly constructed that Kerr hasn't had much of a choice. At times, all we've had at center is Looney. And at times, we haven't had anyone to play the 4 when Draymond sits. Now? You have TJD and Looney who both have been good. Yes, there's no offense there, but both have helped get rebounds as well as provide some rim protection (in TJD's case). Slow-Mo Anderson has been a solid contributor when allowed to play. In fact, Warriors have a very good record when Anderson is allowed to play 15 minutes or more. Additionally, Kerr could play Moody at the 2, a bigger guard who offers better size and defense than Podz, Lendy Waters, or Shroeder.

But Kerr is still sticking with playing Draymond way too many minutes at the 5, causing the ripple effect of Kuminga or Wiggins playing the 4, and throwing out his TINY 3 guard lineup. Kerr is intentionally ignoring other options and prefers to make the Warriors perhaps the smallest team in NBA history. Draymond is getting torched at the 5, the paint is wide open, and even when they manage to have a good defensive possession, they can't get a rebound. And this isn't to even mention how bad this unit has been offensively (supposedly the reason you play tiny).

None of this makes sense. None of it. Get bigger. TJD starting has helped. He's rebounding, blocking shots, and can roll on the pick and roll. Looney has slimmed down this year and was also contributing much more this season than last and yet he hasn't even gotten to play in the last few weeks.

And it would be one thing if the team was winning games. Instead, we all know they're falling like a rock. This tiny obsession of Kerr's is actually destroying this team. Stop playing TINY. Stop the small ball. You're getting blitzed.

If Kerr is really this stubborn, then there has to be a change made.

Why are people worried about being tiny? OKC plays tiny. Houston plays tiny. Hell the cavs played tiny against us last night. You only need at most 1 big on the court. Having more than 1 big on the court kills your offense. Our bigs are trash offensively. They literally can't make layups or shoot from 3 with any type of contest and people want to play multiple of them at a time. And then people wonder why our offense is trash.

SPACING IS KING IN 2025. It doesn't matter how tall you are. The Cavs were literally running a lineup of Garland, Jerome, Merril, Niang, Wade. They were getting stops on our bigs (JK and TJD) trying to score in the paint and then bombing 3s because we couldn't rotate to all of their shooters. Seriously JK is going to have to play center for us because he can't shoot for ****.

[jozef]

Looney has slimmed down this year and was also contributing much more this season than last and yet he hasn't even gotten to play in the last few weeks.

I guess Looney and Anderson are DNP to make a trade for Vucevic very soon.

[HiRez]

You only need at most 1 big on the court.

That's the problem though, we don't even have 1 big. We have 3 guys who play the 5 who are 6'9", 6'9", and 6'6". And none of them can shoot credibly outside of dunks.

[Onus]

You only need at most 1 big on the court.

That's the problem though, we don't even have 1 big. We have 3 guys who play the 5 who are 6'9", 6'9", and 6'6". And none of them can shoot credibly outside of dunks.

Size is not the issue. Defense is not the issue.

[HiRez]

You only need at most 1 big on the court.

That's the problem though, we don't even have 1 big. We have 3 guys who play the 5 who are 6'9", 6'9", and 6'6". And none of them can shoot credibly outside of dunks.

Size is not the issue. Defense is not the issue.

Size IS an issue. Did you not see Zubac go 8-9 casually shooting right over the top of everyone on our team? Same with Turner (9-14), and AD would have done the same to us, as he always does, if he didn't go out early with an injury. Mobley was kept in check offensively last night, but the previous time they faced him, he had his way with our midgets as well. Lively & Gafford feasted. Jokic, Sengun, Gobert same thing. We regularly get owned by tall front lines that we just can't defend. On occasion Draymond can get in there and disrupt the trees because he's a great defender, but even he struggles with the size (and when he's battling centers it's harder on him physically).

[Onus]

That's the problem though, we don't even have 1 big. We have 3 guys who play the 5 who are 6'9", 6'9", and 6'6". And none of them can shoot credibly outside of dunks.

Size is not the issue. Defense is not the issue.

Size IS an issue. Did you not see Zubac go 8-9 casually shooting right over the top of everyone on our team? Same with Turner (9-14), and AD would have done the same to us, as he always does, if he didn't go out early with an injury. Mobley was kept in check offensively last night, but the previous time they faced him, he had his way with our midgets as well. Lively & Gafford feasted. Jokic, Sengun, Gobert same thing. We regularly get owned by tall front lines that we just can't defend. On occasion Draymond can get in there and disrupt the trees because he's a great defender, but even he struggles with the size (and when he's battling centers it's harder on him physically).

The no 1 issue right now is offense. We have no clue what will be needed until that issue is fixed.

Who cares if those players or teams continue to hit 2s if we’re hitting 3s instead?

Unless you’re getting a unicorn that can anchor a defense while also shooting 3s like wemby, Chet, Jabari, jjj, which we’re not then there’s no point in getting a big plodder just to get abused by everyone.

[CDM_Stats]

Size IS an issue.

It is, but by design. Its why I constantly push back on the idea of getting some tall stiff that cant defend (Vuc) or a big guy that sells out for defensive stats (Myles).. the Warriors, at some point, realized that getting smart big men with talent is the toughest thing in the league to get, as an archetype. Once Bogut reached his endpoint, they could either enter the big man pool with almost every other team and hope to find something that worked, or find a way to win without one. Imagine if they pursued a big man instead of KD for the sake of being traditional

Same thing in 21-22. While they no longer had KD and overwhelming talent, they showed that positional defense and versatility worked better than shotblockers. It worked because they committed to it, paired with an offensive system that worked, and were dominant because teams werent built to counter that, they were built to counter traditional stuff

And thats why they need to do it again.. its their only chance. Not a big, but going with what has worked for them. 2 great shooters, a slasher, and 2 great, versatile defenders at the 4/5. It never really stopped working until Klay melted down on both sides. But at that point, they saw JK and TJD do OK in a broken system for a play-in team and are opting to flesh that out instead of doing what historically worked. Its a shame, because they've never even given that a try, but are willing to try JK @ SF, TJD as a heavy minutes starter, Lindy Waters as a starter, trading for a PnR PG and immediately starting him in a motion offense, and almost every other bad, sure to fail idea

[HiRez]

The issue with "we just need shooters and spacing" to counter size only works if we have prime Steph and prime Klay, which we do not anymore. And I don't see anything out there on that level available. Cam Johnson? He could help, I don't hate him, but he's not prime Steph or prime Klay. And they apparently want multiple first round picks for him?

I mean I guess the bottom line is they're just done. They can try to go big, they can try to go small, I don't think any of it is going to work more than insignificantly. I reject the idea they're just one marginal starter or super role-player away.

That's why for all his red flags, Jimmy Butler is still the guy I would consider. He's the only indisputable #1, 2-way dog out there that we know is available (despite what Riley says, I think it's just a negotiating tactic). And he MIGHT be enough to move the needle, although I still think it's a long shot no matter what.

[Onus]

The issue with "we just need shooters and spacing" to counter size only works if we have prime Steph and prime Klay, which we do not anymore. And I don't see anything out there on that level available. Cam Johnson? He could help, I don't hate him, but he's not prime Steph or prime Klay. And they apparently want multiple first round picks for him?

I mean I guess the bottom line is they're just done. They can try to go big, they can try to go small, I don't think any of it is going to work more than insignificantly. I reject the idea they're just one marginal starter or super role-player away.

That's why for all his red flags, Jimmy Butler is still the guy I would consider. He's the only indisputable #1, 2-way dog out there that we know is available (despite what Riley says, I think it's just a negotiating tactic). And he MIGHT be enough to move the needle, although I still think it's a long shot no matter what.

Okc only has 1 center for the year and they’re winning. The Celtics have historically done it with horford.

Last night the Cavs were able to stop jk and tjd with dean wade. Size for size sake is not the answer.

Jimmy butler will literally be Dennis Schroeder redux. He’ll give us even less shooting than Wiggins currently gives us.

[RUN-TJM]

The issue with "we just need shooters and spacing" to counter size only works if we have prime Steph and prime Klay, which we do not anymore. And I don't see anything out there on that level available. Cam Johnson? He could help, I don't hate him, but he's not prime Steph or prime Klay. And they apparently want multiple first round picks for him?

I mean I guess the bottom line is they're just done. They can try to go big, they can try to go small, I don't think any of it is going to work more than insignificantly. I reject the idea they're just one marginal starter or super role-player away.

That's why for all his red flags, Jimmy Butler is still the guy I would consider. He's the only indisputable #1, 2-way dog out there that we know is available (despite what Riley says, I think it's just a negotiating tactic). And he MIGHT be enough to move the needle, although I still think it's a long shot no matter what.

Okc only has 1 center for the year and they’re winning. The Celtics have historically done it with horford.

Last night the Cavs were able to stop jk and tjd with dean wade. Size for size sake is not the answer.

Jimmy butler will literally be Dennis Schroeder redux. He’ll give us even less shooting than Wiggins currently gives us.

Last night the Cavs were waiting for Kuminga to attack. We couldn’t hit a 3 to save ourselves so they were right to pack it in the paint and wait.

We had virtually nothing else.

We are an awful team offensively.

Butler isn’t the answer either.

We need to win the lottery and draft Flagg. And put Curry into a cryochamber or something similar.

Sigh.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Look, I dont think the team is a contender even when they are maxing out. Or at least its a slim as hell chance. But it would be just super if we came anywhere near what that max is. And I know, every teams' fans complain about their coach, but I'm having a really tough time seeing anything that Kerr is

I remember defending him so much from 2014-22, thinking he understood the big picture because he stuck to his guns and somehow it was aligned with the metrics, tracking and a lot of advanced stats. But the past 3 years it has been non-stop baffling, and when he takes a step forward in some way, he'll immediately take a step back in another. It's random poop flinging and I just dont see it changing

For the 2015 championship and the 73 win season that Kerr missed with a back injury Kerr had very good assistant coaches.
I now think Kerr needs good assistants.

I watched a lot of NBA mostly as a Celtic fan prior to me moving to Oakland and becoming Warrior fan in 1991.

Kerr is not a below average coach but he might be average.
Dray as point forward with Curry off ball was genius but what have you done for me lately Kerr.

Mark Jackson wanted Curry to be old Pacers Mark Jackson a great passer. Kerr wanted Curry to be a super version of Bulls and Spurs Kerr and super Steve Kerr version of Curry playing for Coach Kerr and Coach Gentry created a new form of NBA offense.

Too bad Wiggins can’t pass like Iguodala. Iguodala was Draymond’s passing assistant on that incredible passing 73 win Warrior team.

[jozef]

First, Dennis is a square peg in a round hole. On the offense he works his picknroll and Steph has to just stand around. On the defense they both cannot provide any inside help and if they sag just a bit off their player then they give an open 3pter to him.
Second, often when GSW get an offensive mismatch they explore perimeter option of small versus big instead of posting up smaller defenders. For example in Cavs game Schroeder rather tried to blitz by Allen and TJD stood in the corner with Garland as his defender... I would direct my players to do the opposite: TJD would attack Garland in low post and Dennis would stretch Allen to perimeter.

[Sandy333]

Last couple of wins against average teams on 2nd night of b2b, showed we are missing penetration and kickouts. Dennis is starting to do it against some teams and next best is Spencer.

Our collapsing defence is flawed against other penetrating - 3pt shooting teams.

As said correctly by others in this thread, Dennis is not a motion player, he needs targets ( not so mobile ) when he is penetrating and collapsing the defence. Dennis had his best game with steph out.
A coach who is not able to adjust or gameplane as per his players skill is a very poor one.
Steve is still a one trick , trying to find substitute for old warrior team members.
Wiggins should never drive into a crowd, he invariably coughs up the ball, one on one is OK for him. But he has been doing it for 4 years. Coach is at fault.
Podz sidestepping while bring up the ball shows he us not a natural point guard, but coach is still stuck on it.

[TB]

Not maximizing Steph minutes has been a problem for Kerr anytime we have a player that "should" get minutes but isn't a great fit. Forcing Wiseman, or Cousins, or Oubre, or CP3, or now Kuminga and Schroder... all in order to help those guys get going instead of just playing the best Steph system guys with him. Schroder was brought in to end the Podz PG experiment and help non-Steph minutes. Someone should tell Kerr that.

It's crazy to me that Steph/Dray/Wiggins/Loon have only played 32 minutes together this year... especially when Wiggins and Loon both have came into the season looking great. And 11 of those minutes are recent ones with Dennis as the 5th in no-mans land playing combo guard next to Steph. Put a shooter like Buddy, a connecter like Podz, or a 3/D guy like Moody in that spot and good things happen.

The other plan that consistently works for Steph is going small with Wiggins/Kuminga/Dray at the 3/4/5. Even that lineup is well less than 100 minutes if you remove the Steph/Dennis guard combo.

Just use those lineups for the majority (if not all) of Steph minutes and let Dennis play PnR the other 18 minutes.

Steph is almost at 900 minutes this year and about 800 of them are with lineups Kerr is tinkering various things to try and find something that works... while about 100 are with, you know, lineups that have always worked with Steph.

[floppymoose]

https://grantland.com/the-triangle/mark-jackson-fired-golden-state-warriors/

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mark-jackson-in-alleged-extortion-plot-with-ex-stripper-over-nude-photos/

https://beyondchron.org/in-promoting-religion-warriors-jackson-has-crossed-the-line/

[Jester_]

https://grantland.com/the-triangle/mark-jackson-fired-golden-state-warriors/

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mark-jackson-in-alleged-extortion-plot-with-ex-stripper-over-nude-photos/

https://beyondchron.org/in-promoting-religion-warriors-jackson-has-crossed-the-line/

are yes "they aren't as bad as cohen or jackson so they're great" a++ logic

dono what's with warriors fans and living in the past. that was over a decade ago find a new slant

[CDM_Stats]

https://grantland.com/the-triangle/mark-jackson-fired-golden-state-warriors/

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mark-jackson-in-alleged-extortion-plot-with-ex-stripper-over-nude-photos/

https://beyondchron.org/in-promoting-religion-warriors-jackson-has-crossed-the-line/

are yes "they aren't as bad as cohen or jackson so they're great" a++ logic

dono what's with warriors fans and living in the past. that was over a decade ago find a new slant

Was the most recent alternative... Kerr's been HC that long. Think that's more for the people that want him fired

But firing him isn't on the table any more than trading Steph or Dray. They're staying until they want to leave or retire. Still, we should be able to expect more from him. Whether or not he's actually an impactful HC, he has enough pull in this organization that he should be able to play the best lineups w/o worrying on how the players take it. Starting Schroder, for example. Why are we placating him? Did he even ask for it?

I dont think its too much to ask.. why are the best combos not being given a legitimate chance? It's so frustratingly realistic that he could make this change any day, but doesnt

[Crazy-Canuck]

The biggest problem on the floor right now.