We still don’t have an ‘official’ nickname for it yet.
Draymond Green likes to call it a ‘Passer’s Paradise.’ Shams is all about the ‘Lethal Lineup’. Some have called it the ‘Life After Death Lineup.’ After monikered quintets like the ‘Death Lineup’ and ‘Hamptons 5’ led the Warriors to titles in the past, media members and fans are yet to come to a consensus on this year’s smallball group.
On Wednesday night, it could be coach Steve Kerr’s starting five. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, there is “momentum” within the Warriors organization that Steph Curry will return to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Nuggets after coming off the bench to begin the first round playoff series. He played 37 minutes Sunday and has no more physical limitations after missing the final 12 games of the regular season.
Charania reports that Curry will likely join Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond in the starting five. If that’s true, it means Poole, a shifty guard, has usurped Kevon Looney, the team’s lone traditional healthy big man. That’s a big change in personnel for the Warriors, who didn’t find as much success with the combo in Denver after two sparkling games at Chase Center to begin the series.
Curry said the Warriors need to do a better job of limiting foul trouble, in order to open up the game and get transition buckets.
“There’s some numbers on how efficient we are as a defense if we don’t foul,” Curry said. “Even if they score a couple buckets, it’s not the end of the world. You can keep the tempo going pretty high. That unit, we can’t foul. We gotta play without fouling, rebound and use our speed to our advantage. That’s where that superpower kinda gets unlocked.”
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The Warriors are putting a lot of faith in Green that he can continue to hold down the fort against soon-to-be two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Looney (and his six fouls) would still be immensely valuable off the bench for Kerr.
Offensively, Green would aim to thrive as a super facilitator, flanked by three supreme shooters in Curry, Klay and Poole, along with Wiggins, who shot 39.3 percent from 3-point land in the regular season.
“It’s passer’s paradise for me,” Green said at the start of the series. “You got Steph and Jordan – they roam differently than Klay. There’s is more, just kinda fluid. You have to keep an eye on them because they’re moving all over the place. Klay’s a little different. Klay is going to roam when it’s time for him to get to a spot for a shot. … You got those three guys out there at the same time, for me as a passer, that’s heaven. And then the one ‘weak shooter’ (Draymond used air quotes) around me with that group is Wiggins and I’m gonna live with Wiggins shooting that three.”
