De’Anthony Melton steps into the starting lineup and helps the Warriors defeat the Thunder

On By Littum

OKLAHOMA CITY — Through 10 games, the Golden State Warriors have already started six players at the shooting guard spot: Andrew Wiggins in a jumbo package to open the season; Buddy Hield, Lindy Waters III and Moses Moody in the three games Steph Curry missed; Gary Payton II in a few recent matchups; and finally De’Anthony Melton on Sunday night at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Melton opened the Warriors’ 127-116 road victory with a pocket-bounce pass to Trayce Jackson-Davis for a layup. Later in the first quarter, he hit the first of his five 3s. He had 10 rebounds from the guard position, 19 points, two assists and three steals, sliding between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams as his primary assignment.

It was 27 intense minutes from Melton. After the game, Steve Kerr essentially announced that Melton would be the starting shooting guard.

“I like this lineup with Melt,” Kerr said. “I expect to do that again on Tuesday (against the Dallas Mavericks). I think it gives us a really good two-way lineup. You saw what he can do on both ends. … I want that starting group , who were out there tonight, were going to be our group going forward.”

Kerr and the coaching staff discussed Melton as the preferred starting shooter at Hawaii. They signed him because of his perceived fit next to Curry and liked the early results, pairing the two together in the preseason opener against the LA Clippers.

But the first month was all about setup experiments. Draymond Green preferred a center next to him to open games, and it became clear that the Warriors wanted Jonathan Kuminga in the starting lineup to open the season. That led to a big lineup of Curry, Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis, an experiment that lasted just three games.

Melton probably would have slipped into this starting spot earlier, but his back flared up. Melton was limited to 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season because of a nagging back problem that wouldn’t go away. He was available on the mid-level exception this summer due to the shaky health status. He said he chose the Warriors in part because of Rick Celebrini’s recent work guiding players like Green and Otto Porter Jr. through back injuries to productive seasons.

Celebrini kept a close eye on Melton during this trip, leading him through some individual and eventually group workouts to test the inflamed lower back before finally clearing him for the Cleveland Cavaliers game. He was solid against the Cavs and did enough to get the go-ahead shot and 27 minutes against the Thunder.

“We played Memphis in the playoffs (in 2022) and he was part of their seven-man, eight-man rotation because he can defend, knock down open shots,” Curry said. “Convinced. Makes the right play. Sound guy who knows how to play. Just hope he’s healthy and can be available. He’s worked tirelessly on that. Tonight showed that role, a two-way player and another guy who can handle the ball a little bit, which helps.”

In the first quarter, Wiggins burst through Chet Holmgren on a drive attempt and knocked Holmgren horizontally in a hard crash to the floor. Holmgren injured his hip and missed the rest of the game, leaving the Thunder without an available center. Because of that, Kerr changed his rotation and didn’t play Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney the rest of the night.

“Last year, Steph and Steve were talking about the lineups and just running out of options for lineups that we can go to,” Green said. “This year it’s the opposite.”

Kerr started the second half with Payton in place of Jackson-Davis, leaving Melton as the starter and Kuminga in his bench role. It’s clear Kerr wants him to get comfortable leading the second unit. Kuminga was one of their lone bright spots in Cleveland, scoring 21 and backing it up with 20 points in 26 minutes against the Thunder, who relentlessly attacked their lack of rim protection in a productive first half. Kuminga is averaging 17.4 points on 51.7 percent shooting in his seven straight games as a reserve.

“I think JK has shown how important he is off the bench,” Kerr said. “Twenty points tonight, some huge plays. He seems to fit that role well.”

The win capped a tortuous but ultimately impressive 4-1 trip for the Warriors. They blew a 31-point lead in the opener on the Houston Rockets, but settled down and survived in overtime. They took care of a bad Washington Wizards team, handled the Boston Celtics, suffered a blowout loss in Cleveland and responded with a double-digit win in Oklahoma City, blowing another nearly 30-point lead.

Holmgren’s unknown injury status throws the Thunder, considered the regular Western Conference favorite, into a possible November upset. The Phoenix Suns will miss Kevin Durant for at least two weeks and lost to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

The Warriors are tied with Phoenix and Oklahoma City atop the conference with an 8-2 record. They return home for two tests this week, starting with the Mavericks and Klay Thompson on Tuesday night.

(Photo: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)