How Golden State Warriors’ new lineup has fared over the last 12 months

“I think I’ll keep doing it.” Those were the words of Golden State Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr after his monumental lineup change in the reigning champions’ overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.

The Warriors’ starting lineup had remained steadfast for the entire season to date aside from injuries and/or resting. Few expected Kerr to, almost out of nowhere, adjust from the tried and tested unit of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

The Golden State Warriors went small on Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, re-introducing guard Jordan Poole in place of center Kevon Looney.

The idea of Poole in place of Looney isn’t a new one — the former’s play in the absence of Curry late last season forced Kerr into starting the guard trio for Game Five of the first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.

Speaking after the 121-118 loss to the Celtics in which he utilized just eight players, Kerr identified his wish for a more dynamic offense and what it might mean moving forward.

"“We’re .500. Let’s try something different. First time in awhile we’ve had all those guys healthy too…We’ll see how it goes, it went well tonight. Loon was great off the bench. We’ve still got some injuries, we just decided to keep it tight with the eight-man rotation.”"

Golden State’s explosive three-guard combination had people in raptures last season, with social media alight on various nicknames for the unit. Curry, Thompson and Poole played 129 minutes together, logging an offensive rating of 121.7 and an overall net rating of 32.6.

But the trio became less effective during the playoffs and even more so through this season so far. They have an offensive rating of just 108.2, and a net rating of -5, in 248 minutes together. As for the five-man unit including Wiggins and Green, that’s a +0.7 in 108 minutes this season — the Warriors second-most used lineup outside their usual starting five.

Kerr will want greater output than a neutral net rating if this is to continue. How long it lasts will be a fascinating watch, and pressure will come immediately if it’s clear Golden State’s defensive identity is compromised too greatly.

In the long-term, it does address the oncoming issue of paying a sixth man $30 million from next season, along with the fact Poole performs exponentially better when starting compared to coming off the bench. The stress on Green to be a starting center permanently does appear like an unfair and impossible task though.

There’ll be times the Warriors simply overwhelm opponents with a barrage of shooting, and there’ll be times where it looks like they can’t defend a middle school team. The big positive; Looney’s a consummate professional who’ll continue to provide even in a bench role.