Kerr makes first significant cut to Warriors rotation following controversial ploy
Steve Kerr's controversial 12-man rotation has been a major talking point across the NBA to start the season, but it didn't face its first real test until the Golden State Warriors home opener against the L.A Clippers on Sunday.
The Warriors had breezed through their opening two games by an NBA record 77 combined points, allowing Kerr to share around and balance the minutes among the 12 players. Sunday's game was a far different story, with the Clippers forcing Kerr into far more considered rotation decisions.
Kyle Anderson was the odd man out in the Warriors loss to the Clippers
The head coach still went to a 12-man rotation in the first-half, but shortened that to 11 in the final 24 minutes as Golden State suffered their first defeat of the season in a 112-104 loss. Kyle Anderson was the odd-man out for Kerr, with the veteran forward playing under four minutes in the first-half and not a single second thereafter.
Benching Anderson can't have been an easy decision given his experience and versatility. The 31-year-old has averaged at least 19.9 minutes in each of his previous seven seasons, but Kerr was full of praise on how he handled the decision.
"He (Anderson) was amazing the second-half on the bench leading everybody, talking to guys," Kerr said after the loss. "That's what you have to have if you're going to do this and play a lot of people, everyone's gotta to be on board. I couldn't have been more impressed by Kyle's professionalism."
What's more incredible about Anderson's benching is that another more notable veteran forward was also sitting alongside him in the closing moments. With Stephen Curry already absent after leaving the game with an ankle injury, Kerr chose not to go back to Draymond Green in the final eight minutes of the game.
Instead of Green, Anderson or Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kerr turned to veteran center Kevon Looney to close the game. It was the right decision as the 3x champion briefly got Golden State back into the game with his energy and tireless work ethic. Looney finished with a 10-point ,11-rebound double-double in 20 minutes off the bench, while also adding three assists and three steals.
That's not to say that benching Anderson for the entire second-half was the right decision, albeit you could understand the reasoning given Kerr was desperately trying to find spacing and offense in the second-half.
The other element is the fact Anderson only just joined the Warriors on a three-year, $27 million contract. That would suggest they see him as a long-term piece of the team, which combined with the fact he and Looney are the only two bench players above 6'6", would suggest his second-half axing is only temporary.