Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Pelicans

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(Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Kerr employs revolutionary strategy

Steve Kerr is toying with us. Or wrestling with himself, his better judgement in the ring against his coaching ethos.

Throughout Kerr’s tenure in Oakland, we have seen both bold lineup alterations and staunch conservatism. We have seen him both bench his season-long starting center in favor of small-ball, and play his third-string centers instead of going small.

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This series has been a microcosm of the Kerr experience. He went small in Games 1 and 2, starting Nick Young alongside Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Durant and Green. With Curry’s return to the starting lineup in Game 3, Kerr decided to go traditional again, inserting JaVale McGee and removing Iguodala (Curry supplanted Young).

Media and fans alike were frustrated with the change. Small-ball had worked so well through two games, and there was no ambiguity about what lineup Kerr would go to with the series on the line. Why, then, was he wasting time?

Sure enough, Kerr flipped back to Iguodala in Game 4. It was the obvious choice, and it obviously worked. “Going small” is no longer the revolutionary move it once was, particularly not with the unit Golden State has.

Kerr’s hesitance to run out the “Hamptons 5” every game is understandable. He wants to limit Green’s minutes at center and Iguodala’s minutes in general, while keeping his traditional bigs engaged.

At a certain point, however, Kerr’s traditionalism and egalitarianism actually becomes the more unstable approach. He’s flip-flopped twice in this series now between starting big and starting small. Perhaps continuity — a conservative consideration if there ever was one — should rule the day.

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