NEW ORLEANS — Coach Steve Kerr warned changes were coming for the rotation after the Warriors’ latest frustrating loss Thursday night in Orlando to the two-win Magic.
Kerr’s experiment began one night later in the Warriors’ 114-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
With four of the Warriors’ five starters sitting out the backend of the back-to-back for injury management purposes, the Warriors’ young guys had a chance to make an argument for why they deserve a spot in the rotation.
Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and two-way guys Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome were four players who impressed with the opportunity, but they weren’t able to get the job done down the stretch.
The Warriors, playing without Stephen Curry (right elbow soreness), Andrew Wiggins (left foot soreness), Klay Thompson (right achilles tendon) and Draymond Green (lower back), remained close with the Pelicans for most of the game before the hometown jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Golden State pulled within two points after a Jerome layup. But the Warriors couldn’t pull off the comeback, extending their losing streak to five games and putting an end to a disastrous road trip.
“Every game really matters. Every performance matters,” Kerr said. “Going forward, we’re willing to play anybody. And every guy on the roster is capable of coming in and helping us so we have to find the right combinations. And so every night that you get an opportunity, it’s a chance to show the staff that I should be out there.”
In the bigger picture, Friday’s game was about much more than the end result. With the main stars out, the young players had the chance to play through more mistakes, and Kerr & Co. got extended looks at guys who’s minutes have wavered early this season.
After being benched in three of the Warriors’ last five games entering Friday, Kuminga earned a starting nod and took advantage of the opportunity. He found his groove in the second quarter and finished with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lamb, who’s on a two-way contract, scored 16 points and had three steals, and Moody, the most reliable of the Warriors’ 21-and-under club, added 14 points.
Jerome, the Warriors’ other two-way guy, has emerged on this road trip as a dependable backup guard. He had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
While mistakes were bound to happen with so much youth and inexperience on the floor, it was Jordan Poole who had the toughest night.
Poole, who signed a rookie contract extension north of $100 million at the start of the season, carried over his struggles from Florida to Louisiana. He’s shot 12 for 40 from the field over the last three games, including 5 for 18 Friday night. He’s made only five of his 22 3-pointers over that span. Poole scored seven of his 20 points against the Pelicans came from the foul line.
One of Poole’s five turnovers resulted in a transition windmill dunk for Zion Williamson, which forced Kerr to call his second timeout in less than a minute and a half in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, James Wiseman had another up-and-down night. The former No. 2 overall pick was clearly frustrated with his mistakes. He finished with five points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
The game showed some promise of competence and effort among the reserves, but ended an overall disappointing 0-5 road trip. Over the last week, the Warriors fell to three bottom feeding Eastern Conference teams (Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic) and the struggling Miami Heat.
The Warriors (3-7) are off to their worst start in the Kerr era.
The Warriors, now 12th place in the Western Conference, remain winless on the road, dropping to 0-6 away from Chase Center this season. They’ll return home Monday to host the Sacramento Kings.
