Steve Kerr’s reason behind odd rotation decision in Golden State Warriors’ Game 1 loss

The Los Angeles Lakers claimed Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Tuesday night, with their seismic advantage in the paint and on the free-throw line proving too much for the hosts’ three-point barrage.

It was a very different style to what the Warriors had faced against the Sacramento Kings in their first-round matchup, and with it came a slightly different rotation from Steve Kerr that had some fans puzzled.

JaMychal Green’s insertion to Game 1 had many asking why Jonathan Kuminga remained stapled to the Golden State Warriors’ bench.

After playing less than 15 minutes across the entire seven-game series against the Kings, including four DNP’s, JaMychal Green played nearly eight minutes as the biggest surprise in Kerr’s rotation on Tuesday night.

The veteran big man had six points thanks to knocking down two of his four three-point attempts, but he failed to record a rebound and the Warriors were -5 during his minutes. The question can now be posed – was it enough to see him in the rotation moving forward in this series?

Many fans were left disappointed to see Jonathan Kuminga receive another DNP, with the size and skill of the Lakers’ forwards inviting a more suitable matchup for the second-year forward than what was seen against the Kings.

Not that Green or Kuminga is an isolated question, but it’s unlikely both play in the same game unless Golden State suffer major injury or foul trouble. When asked in the post-match, Kerr identified Green’s skillset as his reasoning behind his inclusion in the rotation.

"“We’re playing a big strong team and JaMychal gives us some size on the front line, some rebounding, and he can hit the three. He knocked down a couple of threes for us which is one way to loosen up their defense a little bit.”"

Kerr simply doesn’t hold faith in Kuminga’s three-point shooting, even if he showed improvement as the regular season progressed. The Lakers had no interest in guarding Draymond Green or Kevon Looney, and it’s clear that Kerr wanted some sort of perimeter threat from his four or five position.

Even Green was left wide-open on his four three-point attempts, with the Lakers clearly putting an emphasis on making the Warrior role players beat them from deep. Game 1 is often a feel-out matchup where coaches see who they can rely upon for the remainder of the series, and Green could certainly be a casualty once Kerr inevitably tightens his rotation.