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In a league that’s never been more high-flying, the Warriors started a backcourt of Steph Curry and Pat Spencer — not exactly Dunk Contest applicants.
Without Draymond Green (a personal absence) and Al Horford (sciatica), the Warriors’ limited frontcourt options made Rudy Gobert look like prime Shaq. The offensively challenged center scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dunked on Quinten Post a handful of times.
Curry looked explosive in his return from his five-game absence, registering 39 points, five assists, and five boards, but his cape wasn’t big enough to overcome a 17-0 Minnesota run to start the final frame. Golden State is now 66-18 all-time in games Curry drops at least 39 points.
While the Warriors fell back to .500 with a 127-120 defeat to the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves, neither Will Richard nor Jonathan Kuminga got off the bench (the latter for a second straight contest). There were 27 lead changes, but none after old friend Donte DiVincenzo’s second dagger 3-pointer.
There wasn’t much to take away from a strange night at Chase Center, given the star absences and the abnormal size disparity that came with them. But one rotational quirk revealed itself: De’Anthony Melton, the veteran guard coming off ACL surgery, looks like the best candidate to close games next to Curry.
Friday was Melton’s third game of the season, but his first since last October playing next to Curry. He has long been viewed as an ideal backcourt partner for the two-time MVP because of his secondary playmaking skills, outside shot, and defensive chops. He didn’t even play particularly well against Minnesota, but still floated to the top of a crowded sea of guards for crunch time.
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“Man, can’t get caught watching [Curry],” Melton said after the loss. “I think sometimes, I got caught just seeing what he wanted to do, seeing what he wanted…Aggressiveness helps, too. Getting downhill, being a threat is the most important thing.”
Breaking the paint is the key. The Warriors’ offense is predicated on side-to-side ball movement swings, but the best way to initiate that is by beating your man off the dribble and kicking out from there.
Take this play. Facing intense ball pressure from Rob Dillingham, Melton not only maintains his dribble, but stays in control and gets his shoulders past the young Wolves guard. Then he displayed the requisite touch to finish in the lane.
Source: NBA.com
Melton, like all the other non-Curry guards on the Warriors’ roster, is competing for minutes. None of the other players in that group can consistently make a play like that. Not Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Seth Curry, or Richard. Spencer, who was -15 in his 28 minutes, might be the next-best at handling pressure and converting from close range.
Against Minnesota, Melton only made two of his six shot attempts for nine points. But the Warriors won his minutes by four, representing Golden State’s best plus-minus for the game. And that includes being on the floor for when Minnesota closed the game on a 10-2 run.
“Melt was awesome off the bench,” Curry said.
Steph Curry finished with 39 points in his first game in more than two weeks. | Source: Amber Pietz/The Standard
One of the reasons Steve Kerr doesn’t plan on starting Melton is because the Warriors want him to be available to close games. He’s on a roughly 20-minute restriction as the team tries to keep him healthy throughout the season, and starting him would make it difficult to have him available late in close games.
The Warriors fell behind by 12 in the fourth before Curry scored or assisted on eight straight points. Kerr deployed a closing lineup of Curry, Melton, Moody, Jimmy Butler, and Post.
Normally, Green would surely be in Post’s slot. Moody’s two-way surge in the second half earned him the opportunity to occupy the fifth spot against Minnesota. That role will typically come down to whoever’s playing the best among him, Podziemski, Hield, Horford, Post, and maybe Spencer.
But given Melton’s seamless fit next to Curry — who will close every tight game — he seems to be in a more solidified bucket than that latter grouping.
“I think Melt will be in our closing lineup quite a bit this year,” Kerr said. “He’s so good defensively, he can play either guard spot, he’s a great decision-maker, very fundamentally sound. But I don’t know that we’ll be able to predict our closing lineup at all coming up. Moses earned it tonight, he played so well in the second half. Made some huge plays for us. So we went with Moses and Melt. But it could be very different next game. We just have to ride the hot hand and do whatever it takes to win.”