Why Warriors starting Post is next risky experiment worth taking originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
For a few weeks, the Warriors contemplated bringing Quinten Post up from the G League as his development was shining for the Santa Cruz Warriors. His 3-point shot started falling consistently while Post was an offensive force, and even more importantly, his defense was making major strides in the pick-and-roll.
Even Post has admitted how vital his G League experience was before recently joining Golden State’s rotation. From the size of the court to the speed of the game, the shot clock and more, all 17 games Post spent in Santa Cruz readied him for the NBA. Watching from afar, or on the Warriors’ bench as a two-way player, the rookie center also saw how he could be a factor for Golden State before being part of the team’s plans.
Especially when it came to helping Steph Curry.
“There were a few games this season where I was there and I was like, ‘OK, in this game I felt like I could have made an impact,’” Post said Monday to reporters at Warriors practice. “… There are teams that have a lot of big centers that just want to camp in the paint all game long. In those games, I was like, ‘Yeah, I probably could have made an impact here.’
“To see it happen in these last couple games, it’s still a work in progress, but I do feel like I space the floor and help a guy out like Steph, and then Dennis [Schroder] too. We’ve had some success in the pick-and-roll.”
Which is why after only seven games played in the NBA for a total of 84 minutes, inserting Post into the Warriors’ starting lineup could be their next worthwhile experiment.
Steve Kerr already needed to use 26 different starting lineups between injuries and searching for the right combinations through the Warriors’ first 45 games. The Warriors all of last season had 27 different starting lineup. Why not include a 24-year-old rookie for their 27th this season when the Warriors play the Utah Jazz at Chase Center on Tuesday night?
Curry was stunned to learn the Warriors are 1-18 when trailing after the third quarter this season, and 0-2 when tied. Well, they’re also 7-16 when falling behind after the first quarter, compared to 14-4 when having the lead. The Warriors are 15-3 when they have a halftime lead, and just 7-19 in games they start the second half from behind.
Of course, the Warriors have defensive issues that need to be addressed. Not getting stops has slowed down their pace, making them an offense that doesn’t fit their style. Offense far and away has been a bigger problem this season, and that’s where Post can provide a punch from the opening tipoff.
With Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga out due to injuries, Kerr has started Gary Payton II the last four games as a 6-foot-2 power forward next to Trayce Jackson-Davis in the frontcourt three times and Kevon Looney once. No matter Curry’s chemistry next to Payton, or the fact that he made multiple 3-pointers for the first time all season last games, that still means Steph is beginning games next to two non-shooters. And other teams know it.
A second-round draft pick isn’t all of a sudden going to make teams stop double and triple-teaming Curry. Post’s ability to let it fly from deep as a 7-footer certainly can ease the burden, though. There’s a reason Kerr called Curry “the happiest person in the building” when Post scored 20 points and made five 3-pointers against the Chicago Bulls two games ago.
From the center position, Curry never has been paired with someone at Post’s size who is a true 3-point threat. Post has averaged 17.9 minutes off the bench in the Warriors’ last four games while making at least one three in each game for a total of 9 of 23, a 39.1-percent clip.
Fellow big men Looney and Jackson-Davis will still be needed for their services. Maybe Post starts the game for a few minutes and then his opportunities are sprinkled throughout the game to get him anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes a night. Either way, what he already has provided hasn’t been ignored.
“The beauty of a stretch big is that everybody can play with a stretch big, because it opens up the floor,” Kerr said after Monday’s practice. “It literally makes everybody better. … We’ve got options by putting a 3-point shooting big out there. It gives us a lot of different possibilities.”
Post’s 130.9 offensive rating in 32 minutes next to Schroder shows how he already is helping the veteran guard. His 129.7 offensive rating in 30 minutes with Brandin Podziemski and 128.9 offensive rating in 60 minutes with Moses Moody have been a boost to the bench. All three offensive ratings are better than Post’s 119.8 in the 36 minutes (three games) that he has been on the court with Curry.
That offensive rating also easily trumps what Looney and Jackson-Davis have been as Curry’s center. In a season full of experimenting past the halfway mark, putting Post on the court next to Curry at the start of games is a risk worth taking.