What is the Warriors' biggest problem? I think it's Coach Kerr who is obsessed, he is too obsessed with using five small lineups, this style of play is too dependent on the player's shooting feeling, almost giving up his own inside, looking at the Warriors' offensive feeling is that the style of play is very single, shooting-based, players keep running and looking smooth, the result is that the players are tired enough, and the offensive efficiency is high and low. What's more frightening is the media coverage of the Warriors' new lineup, Paul joined as a starter, Green switched to center, this is a set of lineups that will be targeted by opponents, and the Warriors' nightmare is about to begin.
American journalists covered Paul's prospects on the show. He said Paul is a Hall of Famer-caliber star and it would be awkward to make him a role player, getting an update from Warriors management that Paul is expected to start. In this case, Green will be the team's center, with Wiggins and Thompson playing the team's No. 3 and No. 4 positions, respectively. The Warriors' starters are Curry, Thompson, Paul, Green and Wiggins, Paul is thirty-eight years old, Curry is thirty-five, the only young player is Wiggins, and he is also twenty-eight years old, this is a lineup with no physical talent, average age and older, the game does not have to start, I can imagine that their defense will be full of holes.
In 2022-23, Paul made 7 playoff appearances, averaging 35.7 minutes per game, 12.4 points, 5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.7 steals, shooting 41.8% from the field, 32.1% from three-point range and 50% from the free-throw line.
Paul is a very smart player, he is good at organising, has excellent assists, and he has some ability to shoot, but as he gets older, there are more and more injuries, and Paul has had low attendance in recent seasons. In addition, Paul's athletes have also reduced their ability, and their offensive stability is not as good as when they played. With Paul as a starter, the Warriors' coaching staff is also bold enough.
In 2022-23, Looney made 13 playoff appearances, averaging 25 minutes per game, with 6.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 57.8 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Last season, Looney was very good, his plus-minus was high, but Cole did not give Looney more playing time, and always sat Looney on the sidelines in key moments of the game, wasting this stable interior player. I didn't expect a defender to come in, which would compress the playing time of the inside players, and Looney's status in the team became lower and lower.
Although the new season is still a while away, I am not optimistic about the future of the Warriors, they will trade potential player Poole, and then Green and DiVincenzo also jumped out of the contract, a fierce operation, only to get Paul alone, this roster is not enough to compete with the strong team, the new season Warriors are likely to continue the slump.