Kerr appears to be settling on the Warriors’ starting lineup vs. Thunder

Kerr appears to be settling on the Warriors’ starting lineup vs. Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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

Call it the do-everything lineup.

Kerr added newcomer De’Anthony Melton to the group of regulars — Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis — and watched as that quintet set the tone and propelled Golden State to a 127-116 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night at the 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 had his usual superstar performance with 36 points and Andrew Wiggins aggressively racked up 18 points, Melton stepped up for his first start in a Warriors uniform and made up for slow scoring nights by Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis by pouring in a season-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Afterward, Kerr told reporters he plans to stick with the same starting five when the Warriors return home Tuesday to face former Splash Brother Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center.

“I think it gives us a really good two-way lineup,” Kerr said. “You saw what (Melton) could do on both ends. He’s a really good passer, an excellent 3-point shooter (and) a really good on-ball defender.

“Melt in the starting line-up is something we have talked about a lot in camp and here at the start. Really liked it. I think it makes a lot of sense for us.”

The Warriors didn’t sign Melton as much for his offense as they did in his defense. The 6-foot-2 guard has a massive wingspan, has twice finished in the top 15 in individual steals 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’s been around the block. He’s a gamer. When we played them when he was in Memphis and we were in that (2022) playoff series, he was a difference maker on both ends of the floor. (Tonight) it the third quarter was huge. He hit big threes and played good defense.”

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

Jonathan Kuminga had sporadic success as a starter earlier in the season, but has thrived since they were moved to the benchaveraging 17.4 points while shooting 51.7 percent (45 of 87) from the floor.

That’s one of the reasons Kerr feels comfortable finally settling on a starting lineup.

“I want the starting group that was out there tonight, I want that group to be our group going forward,” Kerr said. “JK has shown how important he is to us off the bench … he seems to fit in well in that role.

“We’re looking for a really good defense to start the game, and that lineup gives us two defenders on the ball with Wiggs and Melt, and then two bigs with Draymond and Trayce. I think we’ll stick with it and see how it goes going.”

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