Last season, with the Larry O’Brien Trophy hanging in the balance, the NBA’s most hyped squad played just 10 total minutes in the NBA Finals. But don’t be surprised if the Golden State Warriors’ five-man pool party sees a lot more floor action when it counts the most if they make it far into the playoffs once more.
In response to a question about whether the three-guard lineup that includes him, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green will be effective in 2022–23, Stephen Curry outlined why that unit is more likely to endure now than it did during the team’s title run last season.
Curry stated, “I think the fact that we have Klay to start the year—we know he’s still on a minutes restriction so we don’t have everybody totally available—I think the fact that he didn’t show up until January last year, and then Draymond was hurt for a while,” We didn’t really have a lot of time to practise that lineup throughout the regular season, so you just kind of show it off in the playoffs, and it worked for a little while before there were some difficulties before we figured it out. That lineup will be one you can visit fairly frequently because we have so many guys to throw out there.
After beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday to start the season, Steve Kerr and the Warriors collectively praised their depth. With various alternatives to mix and match lineups based on injuries, load management, competition level, who is playing well, and time and score-related conditions, Golden State actually has 11 depth this season.
But the Warriors’ “Poole party” team runs the risk of forsaking defence for attack, just like the infamous “death lineup” of bygone dynasties. What is the main distinction between them? Golden State’s key four starters—Curry, Thompson, Green, and Harrison Barnes—as well as Kevin Durant are paired with Poole rather than a defensive guru like Andre Iguodala, depriving Kerr’s club of a potentially game-changing, positionless defender.
Poole has the potential to get better on that side of the ball, according to the Warriors. Poole will be utilised more this spring than he did during last year’s playoffs, according to Kerr, who also stated before the game that he wants to play Poole more. However, having Poole on the floor alongside Curry gives superior offences two very clear points of leverage, making Golden State more prone to developing help defence leaks. Until the playoffs, there is no way to know how the “Poole Party” quintet will fare under scrutiny.
But you can be sure that the Warriors will use it in all 82 of their games.
“We all work well with one another. Curry said of the three-guard lineup, “You can get stops, push in transition and play quickly, and the spacing’s ridiculous. “It looks good.”
Stephen Curry outlines why the “Poole Party” lineup will be even riskier this season in the post that first featured on ClutchPoints.
