Dub Hub: Steve Kerr will continue closing games with ‘whoever is playing the best’

Warriors News:

Steve Kerr discusses why he went with Jonathan Kuminga over Andrew Wiggins in the closing lineup vs. the Suns

Five observations: Warriors get great debut from Chris Paul in loss to Suns | The Athletic

The Suns had 17 offensive rebounds. It led to 26 second-chance points.

“Killers,” Kerr said. “I thought Okogie was the difference tonight, just his offensive boards, his hustle plays.”

Okogie had four offensive rebounds and created several others for his teammates, barreling into bodies and generating loose balls. Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic both had three. There were several backbreakers, like the one below. Nurkic and Okogie outhustle Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins to generate an extra possession for Booker, who uses it to score two of his 32 points.

Steve Kerr on Wiggins: “He isn’t at his best yet”

Warriors tout ‘comfortability’ with Chris Paul to open season | ESPN

He pumped the ball once, skirted around Josh Okogie and made a layin while drawing contact. As he made his way to the free throw line, “CP3!” chants broke out in Chase Center.

Considering Paul’s history with his new franchise — and its fan base — it was an odd sight.

“I couldn’t help but laugh,” Paul said. “It was a first.”

Chris Paul isn’t worried about Warriors’ shooting struggles vs. Suns

NBA News:

Darvin Ham says LeBron James’ 29 minutes in line with Lakers’ plan | ESPN

“Listen, I mean, I always want to be on the floor. Especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact,” James said after the game. “But this is the system in place and I’m going to follow it.”

Denver fans start an interesting chant after Nuggets beat the Lakers 119-107

Meanwhile... the James Harden situation in Philly continues to be just fine

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Warriors drop opener against Suns amid questions about coverages, personnel, and size

Being outnumbered on the backline is already a tough thing to solve. What makes it much more tough for the Warriors above is who the backline help is:

Cory Joseph (6’3”) is on the strong-side corner and can’t help off of Grayson Allen.

Moody is ideal as the low man guarding the weak-side corner, using his length to disrupt any shots at the rim. But he’s not the low man in this instance — he’s the slot defender guarding Eric Gordon.

Instead, the low man is 6’3” Curry, who’s caught in no man’s land. He steps up against Nurkić, but only slightly so. He’s guarding someone considered a non-shooting threat in Josh Okogie, who does the smart thing as someone being left alone on the corner: he cuts into space and makes himself available for the pass.

Player grades: Warriors vs. Suns

Moses Moody

This is exactly what you want to see in a player’s third year. It was, to put it bluntly, Moses Moody V3.0.

I’m a Moody fan, but I’ve been critical of him in the past for being too quiet on the court. In his first two years he would often play a very passive game, not really impacting the action for better or for worse.

There’s a skill in that, and it’s clear Moody is an exceptionally smart and mature player, something that Green noted during an in-game interview with the TNT broadcast. But now he’s adding aggression. Moody completely changed the game when he entered in the first quarter, and kept a rally going when he entered in the third. He was an absolute menace on defense, disrupting everything, and he attacked the rim relentlessly. He outhustled most people on the court, which is something Kerr really wants to see out of him.

Just a great game.

Grade: A

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