The Golden State Warriors playoff chances hinge on many different factors. Will Jimmy Butler gel with his new team? Can Jonathan Kuminga pick up where he left off before getting injured? Do Steph Curry and Draymond Green have enough left in the tank?
Sitting in the 10th seed with a record of 28-27 is a very precarious position to be in. One major factor however that could define the Warriors ability to make a playoff run lies with Steve Kerr and the coaching staff.
Steve Kerr needs to tighten the Warriors rotation
Kerr needs to tighten up his rotations and start playing the Warriors best players more if they are going to have a chance to compete for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
At the beginning of the season Kerr was praised for playing a 12-man rotation, which seemed like a great strategy when the Warriors were off to a hot 12-3 start. Because they were playing so many guys, players were able to come off the bench with more energy and defensive intensity. However, this strategy did not prove very effective for long.
Once the Warriors schedule started getting more challenging and players like Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis started to cool after a hot start, things started going downhill. Kerr however stuck to his “strength in numbers” strategy. It is hard to blame him. This strategy has worked well for Kerr throughout his Warriors tenure. He has been able to extend Curry’s prime and has kept role players prepared for greater roles during injuries. Unfortunately this strategy worked a lot better when the Warriors had a lot more talent on their roster.
Right now the Warriors only have two players on their roster who are averaging more than 30 minutes per game -- Curry and the newly acquired Butler. They are both only averaging around 32 minutes per game. For comparison, other Western Conference contenders are leaning way more heavily on their best players.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are each playing over 36 minutes a game. Before the Anthony Davis trade, the Lakers had four players averaging above 32 minutes a game. The Nuggets have four players playing over 33. In fact, most teams in the Western Conference playoff race have at least four players playing over 30 minutes a game.
This is because winning in the Western Conference is not easy nowadays. You need to have your best players on the floor to be able to compete on any given night, yet Kerr has not been able to figure this out. Playing players like Pat Spencer and Gui Santos may give you some feel good moments, but they simply aren’t talented enough to compete in the crowded West.
So Kerr needs to switch things up. If the Warriors playoff hopes are going to stay alive they are going to need to lean more heavily on their best players. Can Draymond, Jimmy and Steph hold up with a heavier workload? Time will tell. That being said, if the Warriors are going to have a chance, Kerr is going to have to change his ways.