The NBA Playoffs are just as much about who you can't trust on the floor as who you can, with Steve Kerr trying to figure that out across the first two games of the Golden State Warriors' first-round series with the Houston Rockets.
A first-quarter injury to Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski's illness meant Kerr had to go 12-deep in the rotation in Game 2 at Toyota Center on Wednesday night. The Warriors subsequently struggled to find rhythm and generate offense, falling to a 109-94 defeat that sees the series now tied at 1-1.
The Warriors suddenly appear to be lacking true playoff depth
At the start of the season Golden State had too much depth to the point where it was a hindrance, leading to the 4-for-1 Jimmy Butler trade as they made the right decision to target more high-end star-power on the roster.
The depth was still more than adequate following the trade anyway, helping to play a role in the team's stunning rise over the final 30 games of the regular season. Yet over the first two games of the playoffs, you have to wonder whether that depth is real within a playoff environment.
Rookie center Quinten Post had 12 second-half points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc on Wednesday, but otherwise he and veteran center Kevon Looney have been outplayed by Steven Adams when it comes to big men off the bench.
Gary Payton II has become the first player off the bench for Kerr in recent games, yet the veteran guard is shooting just 33.3%, holds the worst plus-minus of any Warrior player over the first two games, and is now dealing with a shoulder injury that has him questionable for Game 3.
Gui Santos looked a little overawed in Game 2, including a quick turnover and shooting foul sequence that left himself visibly frustrated in the second-quarter. Butler's injury opened up an opportunity for Jonathan Kuminga, but the former seventh overall pick didn't quite take advantage despite scoring 11 points on Wednesday.
So, who can Kerr really trust off the bench in these playoffs? It's a question that faces almost every coach currently in the first-round, with the likes of the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks in particular really struggling to find any meaningful bench production.
There's also the old adage that role players perform better at home than on the road in the playoffs, leaving optimism that the Warriors' bench can step up as the series swings back to the Bay. They'll have no choice but to meet the moment if Butler is out of Game 3, with their depth to potentially be tested significantly again following the Game 2 loss.