Warriors turn depth into an edge, winning five straight after an 0-3 start
Short on stars, the Golden State Warriors have won five straight behind a deep bench, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and the Melton-Williams pairing.
Two weeks ago the Golden State Warriors looked like a team undone by its injury report. Now they are 5-3, winners of five straight, and the roster's depth is a big reason why.
The Warriors opened without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, who are still out after injuries last season, and without Kristaps Porziņģis, whose undisclosed illness was announced on media day. They lost their first three games. As NBC Sports Bay Area reports, the bench has since become what is holding the season up. Steve Kerr's old "Strength In Numbers" slogan now describes a different kind of team. In 2014-15 it meant a healthy rotation 11 or 12 deep. This year it means a team that could not even dress 11 of its 15 players on opening night but keeps finding someone to fill the gap.
The clearest example came Sunday against the Clippers. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both sat out for rest, and Golden State still won 124-112. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37. De'Anthony Melton added 21 as a starter, Brandon Williams had 17 off the bench and Brandin Podziemski posted 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. "I think it's obvious that we have a lot of depth," Kerr said afterward, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
The outlet's numbers show how much of this is coming from the second unit. In the two games Curry has missed, Lendeborg has averaged 31.5 points on 57.9 percent shooting. Over those same two games, Melton and Williams have combined for 83 points. In 37 minutes together, the former high school teammates have a net rating of plus-17.5. Through Sunday, Golden State ranked sixth in the league in bench scoring at 43.0 points per game. In the win over the Lakers the reserves outscored the Lakers' bench 50-7, and Georges Niang has shot 47 percent from 3 during the streak. The bench also scored most of the points in the 131-122 loss at Phoenix on Oct. 24, when the same outlet noted that Melton scored 25 and Williams 20.
Kerr used five different starting lineups in the first five games. He credited the summer work of young players such as Lendeborg, Will Richard, Charles Bassey and Graham Ike for keeping the group connected while the lineup kept changing.
What it means against Miami
The streak reached five when the Warriors edged Phoenix 116-113 at Chase Center, avenging the loss in Arizona. During the run they have outscored opponents by an average of 11.4 points. That includes a 134-114 win at Denver and a 119-114 win at Minnesota on the road. Through eight games they are 3-1 at home and 2-2 away. Their three losses came by 22 at the Lakers, 3 to Memphis and 9 at Phoenix.
Miami visits Thursday, Nov. 5, on NBA TV. The key question is availability. Golden State has shown it can win without Curry and Green. What is still unknown is how the rotation will hold up once Butler, Moody and Porziņģis come back, and whether Melton and Williams can stay this productive when Curry is on the floor. For now, the Warriors have gone from 0-3 to two games over .500 in less than two weeks.
