SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr joked that he’s trying to set the record for most different starting lineups in a season.
He’s not a on a bad pace.
Golden State’s latest wrinkle is inserting two-way center Quinten Post into the starting-five, taking the place of Trayce Jackson-Davis. Post, who has impressed in his first four games in an NBA rotation, gives the Warriors a new look as a floor-spacing center.
The starting-five of Post, Steph Curry, Buddy Hield, Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II is the Warriors’ 28th unique starting lineup combination of the season — tied with Philadelphia for the most this year. Memphis set the all-time record for distinct starting units last year with 51.
Post has been shooting the ball with confidence from behind the arc, hoisting up four, 10, five and five 3-point attempts in the past four games. The 24-year-old rookie has developed fast chemistry with Curry, whom he’d never played alongside — not even in training camp — before last week.
Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga remain sidelined by injuries, but it’s easy to imagine Post’s skill set unlocking them when they return.
“I think the beauty of a stretch big is that everybody can play with a stretch big,” Kerr said earlier this week. “It opens up the floor. It literally makes everybody better.”
Post is shooting 37.5% from 3 on what’s still a small sample. There are concerns about his defensive ability, particularly in the pick-and-roll and in staying out of foul trouble. Oklahoma City, which plays a five-out style, is bound to target him by drawing him out of the paint on switches.
But this season has been about searching for combinations that work, and Post seems like an easy player to fit around.
Jackson-Davis, meanwhile, heads to the bench a day after being named to the Rising Stars team as a sophomore. He and Kevon Looney should still factor into nightly game plans, particularly with Green unavailable. Jackson-Davis is shooting 57.2% from the field this year, well down from his 70.2% mark as a rookie.
Notable
— Steve Kerr presented Grant Hill with an Olympics championship ring before the Warriors game tipped off. Kerr and Steph Curry, along with coaches Klint Carlson and Khalid Robinson, also got honored with rings pregame for their work on the gold medal-winning Team USA. Kerr was named Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year and Curry Player of the Year.
— Quinten Post was named to the G League Up Next Game, which is essentially a G League All-Star game. The miniature tournament will be played at Moscone Center during All-Star weekend in San Francisco.
— The first-place, 37-8 Thunder entered Wednesday as 9.5-point favorites over the Warriors.