The Golden State Warriors pair crucial to each other’s (and the team’s) success

The Golden State Warriors went into Friday’s clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers having comfortably held the league’s worst bench unit. It’s no surprise that the return of Donte DiVincenzo proved critical to an improved performance as the Warriors overran their younger opponents in a 106-101 win.

In combination with an unsustainably short rotation, DiVincenzo helped Golden State compete defensively for the full 48 minutes. The bench didn’t blow Cleveland out of the water like previous iterations of the Warriors have, but they were combative enough to allow Stephen Curry the chance to again propel the team to victory in the closing minutes.

With the return of Donte DiVincenzo to the Golden State Warriors lineup, there’s no coincidence we saw a better performance from young star Jordan Poole.

DiVincenzo missed eight games with a slight hamstring issue, and in his absence, Steve Kerr was unable to cover Poole’s biggest need — surrounding him with defensive-minded players that can reduce his responsibility on that end.

Last season, Poole had a 105.5 defensive rating — an elite number thanks to the calibre of the Warriors defense, but still only ranked ninth on the team. Yet, his defensive rating improved to 101.9 with Gary Payton II on the floor, emphasising the need for a high-level point-of-attack guard off the bench.

Outside Ty Jerome, Poole (115.9) and DiVincenzo (117.1) have the two-worst defensive ratings of any Warriors players to be averaging at least 14 minutes per game. But as a combination, in 46 minutes of play together, the duo has a defensive rating of 108.7 — a mark Kerr and the coaching staff can better live with.

The Warriors had a net rating of 13.9 in 16 minutes with Poole and DiVincenzo on the floor against the Cavaliers. Poole had a much improved outing, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists on 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range.

This isn’t rocket science — any team with Poole as a primary perimeter defender will struggle defensively, while any team with DiVincenzo as the lead creator will struggle offensively. Together, they balance each other’s weaknesses and build a much stronger bench unit.

Poole will play a lot with the starting lineup in units where he replaces Kevon Looney, but for DiVincenzo, Kerr needs to further manage him in a way that pairs him with Poole for the majority of his minutes.