5. Play more Sdot/Cook, less Young
I think it’s fairly safe to say that the whole thing about Steve Kerr starting Nick Young in Game 1 against the Pelicans was not just a failed experiment, but a downright horrible idea.
More from Blue Man Hoop
- 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
- Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
- 7 players Golden State Warriors might replace Klay Thompson with by the trade deadline
- Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court
In 21 minutes of play, Young posted six points, one rebound and one steal on 2-of-4 shooting, finishing a -7 on the night. As expected, he was, as he normally is, a complete non-factor.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve grown overly critical of Young as the regular season progressed. As I laid out in one of my previous posts for Blue Man Hoop, Swaggy P is very much a one-trick pony, which means he’s absolutely useless when he’s not performing his one trick well.
So forgive me when I say that I simply don’t understand why such a respected coaching staff would make the stupid decision to start Young when guys like Quinn Cook and Shaun Livingston are also on the roster.
Livingston notched a +15 in 22 minutes off the bench, tallying 10 points, two rebounds and three assists on 3-of-6 shooting. Cook played 22 minutes, recording 11 points, three rebounds and three assists on 4-of-9 shooting.
If Kerr’s reasoning behind starting Young was to keep the lineup small, Cook and Livingston would have fit that criteria, as well. If Kerr wanted to keep Livingston as one of the leaders in the second unit, then I’m confidently sure that Cook — the guy who, you know, started in place of an injured Steph Curry — would have done just fine.