Kerr appears to be happy with the Warriors’ starting lineup against the Thunder

Kerr appears happy with Warriors’ starting lineup against Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

After insisting he would lean heavily on the depth of the Warriors’ roster while assembling starting lineups, coach Steve Kerr appears to have finally settled on a permanent unit.

Let’s call it the all-rounder lineup.

Kerr added newcomer De’Anthony Melton to the regulars – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis – and watched as that quintet set the tone and led Golden State to a 127-116 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder led Sunday night at Paycom Center.

The win, their eighth in their last 10 games, improved the surging Warriors to 8-2 in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns.

On a night where Curry turned in his usual superstar performance with 36 points and Andrew Wiggins aggressively put up 18 points, Melton made his first start in a Warriors uniform and made up for the slow scoring nights of Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis made up for the shooting with a season-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Kerr then told reporters that he wants to remain in the starting lineup when the Warriors return home on Tuesday to face former Splash Brother Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center.

“I think it gives us a really good two-way lineup,” Kerr said. “You saw something [Melton] could reach at both ends. He’s a really good passer, an excellent 3-point shooter [and] He’s also a really good ball defender.

“The meltdown in the starting lineup is something we talked about a lot in camp and here in the early going. I really liked it. I think that makes a lot of sense for us.”

The Warriors signed Melton not so much for his offense, but more for his defense. The 1.90 meter tall guard has an enormous wingspan, finished in the top 15 in individual steals twice and currently has a defensive rating of 96.

“It’s exactly what you expected,” Curry said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live” show. “He was already in the area. He is a gamer. When we played against them when he was in Memphis and we were there [2022] He was a difference-maker on both ends of the field in the playoff series. [Tonight] The third quarter was huge. He hit big threes and played great defense.”

Curry, Green and Jackson-Davis are the only players Kerr has used in every game this season. Wiggins started eight of the 10 games, but the fifth spot in the lineup had a revolving door.

Jonathan Kuminga had sporadic success as a starter early in the season, but has thrived since moving to the bench, averaging 17.4 points on 51.7 percent (45-of-87) shooting from the floor.

That’s one reason Kerr has no problem finally settling on a starting group.

“I want the starting group that was out there tonight to be our group for the future,” Kerr said. “JK showed how important he is to us from the bench… he seems to fit into that role really well.

“We’re looking for a really good defense to start the game and this lineup gives us two big defenders in Wiggs and Melt and two big defenders in Draymond and Trayce. “I think we’ll stick with it and see “How things are going.”

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