Why Steve Kerr believes Draymond Green-Eric Paschall combo can work

Share

Warriors forwards Draymond Green and Eric Paschall shared the floor for 398 minutes this season.

During that time, Golden State had a net rating of minus-10.9. That's bad.

The cold hard truth is that Paschall thrived when Draymond was on the bench or simply not in uniform.

Important caveat -- a lot of that had to do with injuries to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and the team facing less-than-ideal circumstances.

But nonetheless, the pairing is an important dynamic for the coaching staff to figure out. So when looking ahead to next season, will Steve Kerr feel comfortable deploying lineups with Paschall at power forward and Draymond at center?

"I don't think that's really a big issue because if Draymond is on the floor, he just guards anybody he wants because he's that good," Golden State's coach said recently on "The TK Show" podcast with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. "If we decide to play him at the five and Eric at the four, we're gonna have a lot of shooting on the floor next to those guys -- and play-making -- and I think that's a combination that can work.

"I think there's no doubt Eric is better as a four than he is as a three. He's much more comfortable at that spot. But there are ways to fit that in to what we're gonna do next year. And then there are also things that we can do to try to help him get better so he can play the three."

Having Curry, Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on the floor with Green and Paschall would give the Dubs plenty of shooting, play-making and floor spacing.

That's a lineup the Warriors could use to finish games. But it also might be a unit that gets an extended look because Kerr believes the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year's minutes at center can be extended.

[RELATED: Why Kerr says Paschall alone made Dubs season a success]

"I was always very careful over the last five, six years not to play him too many minutes at center," he explained to Kawakami. "But I think the league has changed pretty dramatically, and I can see him playing more minutes at the five. I don't think there would be any problem with that.

"You still have to have a roster that allows you to deal with the big 5s who are out there. And we absolutely will address that. But from one game to the next, Draymond is really not gonna have too much of a problem guarding the other teams 5s because the big huge guys ... they're almost extinct."

You already can't wait for next season to arrive, right?

Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram

Contact Us