SAN FRANCISCO – With the Warriors cruising to victory in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, a joyous Dub Nation is issuing a collective plea for more.
More winning, yes, but much more of the lineup that ignited the triumph: Jordan Poole, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. Maybe even making that group the base lineup.
Those pleas shall, for the most part, go unanswered.
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SIGN UP HERE “It depends on the opponent,” coach Steve Kerr said Sunday, 17 hours after the 123-107 win in Game 1.
It’s not that Kerr and his staff are ignoring the wishes of their fans. It’s that the lineup – which, until there is an official nickname, we’ll refer to as the Dragon Squad – is best used as an ultrahigh-speed shock unit.
Too much of it leads to diminishing returns, as once the energy wanes – and there is no doubt it will – the opponent, whether it’s the Nuggets or another team, can capitalize and mount its offensive response.
As wonderful as it looks, this approach is best deployed in stretches of five or six minutes, two or three times per game.
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That was the case for the original “Death Lineup,” with Curry, Green and Thompson joined by Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala. That was the case for the Ultimate DL, with Barnes giving way to Kevin Durant. Usage was situational, based on several factors.
“It depends on how the game is going,” Kerr said. “You have to read the game. The way we’ve always done it here . . . the method is if you do it for too long it’s exhausting . . . That’s why we’ve done it in smaller portions.”
No one burns more energy under these conditions than Green, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward who in moving to center wages war against men six inches taller and up to 50 pounds heavier. Denver’s Nikola Jokic is listed as 7-foot, 284 pounds. Asking Draymond to defend Jokic for 30 minutes while also orchestrating Golden State’s offense and defense would be borderline inhumane.
The purpose of these lineups is the crank the intensity all the way up to maximum, to attack with such ferocity it overwhelms the opponent. It’s not sustainable for more than a few minutes at a time.
“That group has to speed people up,” Green said. “You can’t just let a team walk the ball into their spots and get into the sets they want wants to get into. There has to be some pressure. We have to be trying to speed a group up and some flying around.”
The group needed only four minutes Saturday to spin the outcome toward the Warriors. With 4:23 remaining in the second quarter and Golden State trailing 41-40, Poole entered, joining Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Green. The Warriors scored 18 points in less than four minutes, going into halftime with a 58-47 lead they never came close to losing.
Until that point, the quintet had been a concept. A threat. Upon becoming a reality and succeeding so spectacularly, it’s natural to consider it might be the way go as often as possible.
“That lineup definitely causes its issues,” Green said. “For the most part, we can hold our own on the defensive end. That’s the most important piece of going to a small lineup. That lineup can be as incredible as it wants offensively, but if you can’t get stops on the defensive end, it doesn’t matter.
“It’s not our best defensive lineup, nor should it be. But it has to be able to produce enough stops to make the offensive end relevant. Last night, we did that.”
The Dragon Squad worked, first and foremost, because of its sheer energy. Second, there are the comprehensive assets possessed by the trio of guards, Poole being the primary ball-handler operating off screens by Green while 3-point aces Curry and Thompson used off-ball movement to torture Denver’s defense. Wiggins had plenty of space to attack the rim.
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The offense is as good as any in the NBA. The defense can be great, but not for extended periods multiple times each game.
“What’s going to be that group’s identity on the defensive end?” Green wondered. “When you have groups that you put on the floor, you have to create an identity. What it’s going to be for that group, on that end of the floor, will ultimately determine how good or great that group can be.
“But I think that group has all the potential in the world to be a damn good one.”
That is the correct answer, conditionally, because more of a great thing is not always the best way to keep it great.