Steve Kerr is taking advantage of the preseason to find the right formula on a rotation of nine players. His challenge is to find the right balance between the starters and the “second unit”, and there is no shortage of combinations. “There is competition in all sectors”warned Steve Kerr during “media day”. “It's not as simple as asking 'Who will be in position 2?' »… We have to ask ourselves “who will be the 5th?” », “Who will be the 4th? »… We know Steph is at station 1. But what is the combination? This gives us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves a little. It's easier when you know your starting five and your first four players off the bench. It's much easier for a coach to know this. But that’s not the case for us.”
A player highlighted by the “small ball”
Under the boards, Kerr warned that he did not want to expose Draymond Green too much even if he likes to play him as a pivot. Another solution: Kyle Anderson, whose “Swiss army knife” side is no longer in doubt. Everywhere he went, the former Spurs winger proved that his versatility was valuable, and why to play pivot in Golden State.
“I find that it played a huge role in my favor, being able to play guys like me at position 4,” recognizes Andersonabout the emergence of the “small ball”. “It kind of created a position for guys like Draymond [Green]myself who are perhaps 4 too small or too tall to play on the wing. I think the game has evolved in my favor. »
The real pivots have not said their last word
Anderson could therefore be aligned as a pivot in a “small ball” five, and he likes the idea. “I love it, and I think I can do a decent job defensively on the pivots. It's also an advantage for us on offense, to have to set screens and play in the paint… To be able to grab a rebound and launch the counterattack. »
However, Anderson recognizes at the same time that we are witnessing a return of the real, dominant pivots, like the last two MVPs, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. “I think today you need a little more size to win. Boston this year and Golden State in 2022 were able to win [sans de super pivots]but we see here and there, with Jokic and Embiid, that the pivots can also achieve it. »
