Eleven Warriors players spent at least eight minutes on the court Tuesday night against the Lakers. A way to involve everyone in this party since the defending champions received their champion ring before the meeting. But also to increase the power of the Golden State group.
To face the Californians is to face a major big five: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney. Then to an army of very good substitutes: Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green, James Wiseman or even Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
Without forgetting Andre Iguodala, the only player mentioned not to have played against Los Angeles.
“With eleven different players that we can use, we will be able to have several combinations night after night, especially at the start of the season to develop our chemistry. We are going to try things, do experiments.remarks Stephen Curry for The Athletic. “We have a lot of players” continues Steve Kerr. “It’s rare to have a rotation of eleven players. »
The Warriors’ slogan, “Strength in Numbers”, more relevant than ever
Who says eleven players, also says limited playing time sometimes for some. Against the Lakers, Moses Moody played the least (if we put aside the two minutes of Ryan Rollins), with eight minutes on the clock.
“I told the team: because of this depth, some evenings will be worse than others, so you have to keep your head up when the chance presents itself to you”comments Steve Kerr. “Difficulties arise when people are frustrated not to have played”announces Stephen Curry. “You have to be patient with that. »
As Klay Thompson will only play about twenty minutes for the moment, that a regular season is long and that there are always injuries, everyone should indeed have a chance at one time or another, especially among young people. like Moses Moody, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
For the coach, this rich problem makes him think of his first season at Golden State. “It reminds me of the 2014/15 team, although this year this bench is younger. There are matches where we didn’t play Shaun Livingston or Leandro Barbosa. They each had times when they played very little, if at all. »
Stephen Curry, who is far from this situation where we hope to have a few minutes to speak, accepts this comparison. “There is a bit of that, yes. There are eleven players who deserve a chance and who will be essential for us. The 2014/15 squad had an older, more experienced bench. But it was around this time that ‘Strength in Numbers’ was born. »
