DETROIT, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors looks on after a foul in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 19, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
3 bold predictions for Pittsburgh Steelers after NFL Draft
No one knows how to tease reporters like Steve Kerr and he had some fun trolling over our rush to give the Warriors a new ‘Death Lineup.’
Steve Kerr is reliably one of the most engaging interviews in the NBA and his awareness of both media narratives and the ways in which they’re constructed means he can poke fun in ways some other coaches and players can’t.
For example, knowing NBA reporters love a snazzy nickname and have a tendency to see new developments through the prism of what’s come before. Yesterday, he had some fun with the group covering the Warriors for trying to christen a new ‘Death Lineup.’
Steve Kerr again (half jokingly, I think) goes in on media when asked about recent struggles of Curry, Poole, Thompson, Wiggins, Green lineup.
“You guys are the ones who were trying to figure out the nickname for a group that had played 11 minutes together.”
— John Dickinson (@JDJohnDickinson) May 5, 2022
The infamous ‘Death Lineup’ was a small ball configuration the Warriors used from 2016 to 2019, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. The group placed a premium on switchability and versatility and outscored opponents by an average of 19.8 points per 100 possessions over the regular season and playoffs for those three years.
How has the Warriors new ‘Death Lineup’ been playing?
The group was fractured when Durant left but the first few games of this postseason got everyone very excited about a possible redux with Curry, Thompson and Green playing with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. That group was plus-11.6 points per 100 possessions in the first round against the Nuggets but hasn’t been as effective against the Grizzlies, getting outscored by 11 points in 11 minutes in the first two games of the second round. That group didn’t play a single minute together during the regular season.
So which media outlets would be so irresponsible as to compare a brand new unit that had only been briefly effective in a tiny sample size to one of the most effective and iconic lineups of all time?
Oh, yeah … us.
