OAKLAND–On Christmas Day, the Warriors had a gift to share with the basketball world.
For the first time since a five-minute stint on December 6, Golden State was ready to welcome center Zaza Pachulia back to the bench after the team’s starter battled a shoulder injury that sidelined him for three weeks. Though Pachulia was healthy and prepared to play, the Warriors left their present under the tree, as Pachulia did make an appearance in the team’s 99-92 victory over Cleveland.
Instead of running Pachulia with the first unit, head coach Steve Kerr kept rookie Jordan Bell in the starting lineup and then used both Draymond Green and reserve center David West in the low post when Bell was off the floor. Though Kerr said he planned to use Pachulia to counter Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson, the Warriors never found the right time to insert Pachulia into the game.
“That’s (not playing) going to be rare, he (Pachulia) handled that beautifully,” Kerr said of Pachulia’s “DNP”. One of the most professional players I’ve ever been around. He gets it. I’m not him chase Kevin Love around and try to guard LeBron in his first game back. That wouldn’t be fair to him or to us. We’ve been defending a certain way and all of a sudden we play a team with the three-point shooting and the penetration and it made more sense to go with Jordan. Zaza had no problem with it, but Zaza is our starter and he will be starting I would say the vast majority of games but I wouldn’t hesitate to change the starting lineup for a matchup.”
With Bell seeing an uptick in minutes and the Warriors’ reportedly shopping JaVale McGee on the trade market, Kerr said it’s critical for him to maintain an open channel of communication with his players. Though Pachulia may have been concerned about not returning to the starting lineup, Kerr addressed the potential issue before the game, leaning on experience he gained playing under Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich as well as Kerr’s coach with the Bulls, Phil Jackson.
“As a player I was always a little nervous, especially as a young player I was a little nervous to go in a coach’s office and ask him stuff,” Kerr said. “So it can be a little nerve-wracking, you don’t want to bug your coach but then if you don’t ask, a coach doesn’t say anything and you’re stuck wondering what’s going on.”
Pachulia told reporters that Kerr handled the situation well, and Kerr said his job is made easier because of the relationships he’s built with Warriors players. Golden State kept the vast majority of its championship team together after defeating Cleveland in the NBA Finals in June, and Kerr said that’s had an impact on his ability to be open with players.
Though Pachulia is back in the starting lineup for Golden State’s matchup with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Bell could earn the opportunity to start against teams with smaller, quicker lineups. If that happens, Kerr has indicated it won’t be a problem for Pachulia, who understands his role and handles playing time in a professional manner.
“I always try to address any of our guys who has something going on, either playing time-wise or injury-wise,” Kerr said. “That’s coaching. That’s just checking on your guys and letting them know what’s happening on your end. So Zaza and I have a great relationship and it goes way beyond basketball. It helps when you’re really friendly with somebody and you enjoy each other’s company.”