Golden State’s rotation of guards gets a fresh spin
SAN FRANCISCO — In the aftermath of De’Anthony Melton’s torn anterior cruciate ligament that sent the Golden State Warriors’ rotation and record into a spiral, coach Steve Kerr tried to elevate Brandin Podziemski into the starting shooting guard spot, talking as if he wanted Podziemski to grab firm hold of it and get his second season on track.
It didn’t happen. Podziemski’s offensive struggles have only deepened in the weeks since. During Sunday night’s 143-133 loss to the Dallas Mavericks — the eighth loss in 10 games for Golden State — Podziemski missed four of his five shots, dropping his season shooting percentage to 37.6%, fourth-lowest in the NBA among players who have taken at least 150 shots. He has made only 25% of his 3-pointers.
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His lowlight Sunday came midway through the fourth quarter, with the Warriors’ chances slipping. He hesitated to fire a right-corner 3 on the catch, pump-faked, took a single dribble and trapped himself. Luka Doncic engulfed him. Podziemski spun around a couple of times and was forced to fling a no-chance grenade at the rim.
Doncic blocked it. The Mavericks pushed the rebound in transition. Klay Thompson popped open for 3. The Mavericks went up by 12. Golden State called timeout, and Podziemski subbed out of the game.
After the loss, Kerr was spotted having an extended conversation with Podziemski before leaving for the locker room. Kerr declined to detail specifics on it.
On Monday, the Warriors’ newest guard arrived. Dennis Schröder, traded from the Brooklyn Nets for Melton, will make his debut for Golden State on Thursday night in Memphis. Kerr wouldn’t officially name Schröder the immediate starting shooting guard, but it’s clear that the most influential decision-makers believe that is where the rotation will land quickly.
“He would seem to be a perfect fit to start next to Steph,” Kerr said of Schröder alongside star point guard Stephen Curry.
Melton’s injury paved the way for Schröder’s arrival. The absence created an opening, and their contracts matched nearly perfectly for a trade. But Podziemski’s offensive struggles generated the extra level of urgency to get it done on the first day that Melton and Schröder became trade eligible.
The noise from Golden State during the offseason and training camp signaled that Podziemski would step into a bigger playmaking and shot-creation role. His inability to do so efficiently has partly revealed the team’s biggest flaw. The Warriors entered Sunday night as the league’s fourth-best defense but sat 14th offensively, and it has been a whole lot worse lately.
“We actually need a pick-and-roll player right now,” Kerr said. “The last 10 games, our pick-and-roll efficiency is dead last in the league. Teams are loading up on Steph. You can’t ask him to run every pick-and-roll. Dennis is a pick-and-roll player. I think if you look at the league, the way it has evolved the last few years, the best offenses all have two point guards, whether it’s Dallas or Cleveland or Indiana. I think Boston has three or four guys who can run pick-and-roll. I just feel like in the modern NBA, you need multiple pick-and-roll players.”
The Warriors, rather famously, aren’t a heavy pick-and-roll operation. But Kerr made the point that they adjusted their style last season to Chris Paul’s strengths, and Kerr would be willing to do so again for Schröder.
“Dennis is a guy who, yes, he likes running pick-and-roll,” Kerr said. “We like running off-ball stuff. But we like running both. A year ago, we had Chris Paul, and Chris was great. We ran a ton of pick-and-roll with Chris, and our offense was pretty good — I think seventh at the end of the year in efficiency. But what we didn’t have last year was two-way basketball. We were not good defensively.”
