Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has taken the league by storm with his meritocracy-based rotations, which call for varying players to end games on different nights based on who has the hot hand.
In the season-opening 140-104 win over the Blazers, he played 14 players with 12 of them logging at least 14 minutes. Then, in a 127-86 victory against the Jazz, he used 14 players with 13 players receiving at least 12 minutes. And in Sunday's 112-104 loss to the Clippers, Kerr leaned on 13 players with 11 of them clocking at least 12 minutes.
During the loss to the Clippers, Kerr potentially lost his best player to an injury as Stephen Curry suffered an ankle sprain. Curry is due for an MRI on Monday. After the game, Kerr was asked if he would alter his strategy and give more minutes to specific players to fill the potential void of Curry.
Kerr said his deep rotations weren't just a stopgap arrangement and a potential injury to Curry wouldn't change anything.
"Tonight, it was 11 [players] really since I went to Kyle [Anderson] for only four minutes," Kerr told reporters. "Everyone’s gotta be on board [with this plan]... I couldn't have been more impressed by Kyle's professionalism. But every game's going to be a little different. Somebody texted me like, 'Hey 12 guys, it's a real democracy.' I said as soon as we lose, it's going to be communism. That's the truth. The results dictate the judgment, and that's the business we’re in. I have to do what I think is best for our team. Generally speaking, that changes throughout the year in a 82-game season. We have to be ready to adapt, but I like the commitment that the guys have made."
While Kerr's commitment to his plan is admirable, one wonders if he is stunting the growth of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, his prized young assets, by giving them limited playing time. In the aftermath of Klay Thompson's exit, it was widely assumed Podz would try to fill the void of departing Splash Brother Klay Thompson and Kuminga would be officially anointed as the second scoring option behind Curry.
However, three games into the season, Kuminga (19.7) and Podz (24.7) are averaging fewer minutes than they did a year ago.
