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Steph Curry and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have a record of 15-15 after beating the Orlando Magic on Monday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors have been far from perfect this season, and Chris Mullin seems to know what’s missing from the team amid their recent slump.
Mullin was on the Warriors Pregame Live show on NBC Sports Bay Area before the Magic game. He was joined by host Bonta Hill, Festus Ezeli and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.
After Dunleavy said that the Warriors aren’t looking to trade for another superstar and will focus on minimizing turnovers, Mullin chimed in with his take about Golden State’s current season.
“This day and age in the NBA, most teams, and the Warriors may be number one, very random offensively. Kind of space and pace, five men out, which to me means you need ultra chemistry. You’re kind of reading each other. Steve’s not over there calling set plays, which in one way is a little easy. You just get to your spot, you pop out,” Mullin said.
Another thing Mullin pointed out was the inconsistency in Steve Kerr’s rotation, especially the guys off the bench.
Dunleavy Comments on Kerr’s Rotation
Chris Mullin also asked Mike Dunleavy Jr. about the Warriors’ inconsistent rotation under Steve Kerr this season. The Hall of Famer believes that it takes some time to develop communication despite their success last season after the acquisition of Jimmy Butler.
“I think we want to find more consistency with rotations and lineups. I think that’s something Steve’s really focused on right now. … Now is the time to lean in consistency, and I think we can do that as long as you have six, seven guys every night that are kind of in that rotation that you feel strongly about,” Dunleavy said.
Kerr is indeed working on his rotation’s consistency, with Will Richard as an example. Richard received three straight DNPs before his 20-point performance in the win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. He was then scoreless in 12 minutes against the Orlando Magic.
While it’s good that Golden State has an amazing depth, it also creates a logjam in minutes that would result in some players sitting out the entire game.
New Issue Arises in Golden State
While turnovers and an inconsistent rotation have been a problem for the Golden State Warriors, the franchise wasn’t prepared for what happened on Monday. In the third quarter of the Warriors-Magic game, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr got into a heated argument.
Green had to take off and head back to the locker room to calm himself down. He returned to the bench in the fourth quarter, but Kerr never brought him back in as the Warriors beat the Magic 120-97.
Evan Webeck of The Mercury News reported that the Warriors weren’t worried about the incident between Kerr and Green. Steph Curry shared the same sentiment when reporters asked him after the game.
Brandin Podziemski also said that Green was very vocal on the bench after the incident. He was instrumental in inspiring the Warriors to finish the job heading into their Christmas showdown against the Dallas Mavericks.
Juan Paolo David Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David
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