Longtime habitues of the pro hoops scene know that preseason matches count for squat, but yesterday’s homestand by the Warriors nonetheless served as an eye opener for even their biggest critics. Erstwhile Public Enemy Number One Chris Paul played in blue and yellow for the first time, and, lo and behold, he actually did well. In fact, he scored the first points for the hosts and, in answer to repeated queries as to how he would be able to co-exist with fellow playmaker Stephen Curry, quarterbacked the offense from the get-go.
The final score gave the Warriors a blowout win over the Lakers, but arguably the most relevant development came at the start; when Paul greeted the opening tip, head coach Steve Kerr sent a clear message that he would be ceding the one spot to the point god. The move will effectively have Curry playing off the ball. Not that it was an earth-shaking decision; after all, the latter has had ample experience doing so, and with great success. Nonetheless, it signifies the degree to which the they’re invested in the partnership.
Indeed, the Warriors could opt to have Paul come in off the bench. It’s logical, after all, to preserve the body of the 37-year-old veteran, who hasn’t finished the regular season with more than 70 games in his belt since 2016, and who missed a whopping 40 over the last two seasons. If nothing else, however, yesterday’s set-to is a clear indication that they’re bent on squeezing the most out of him, and that he will be bookending their bids for victory. The remainder of the preseason schedule figures to be opportunities to tweak the plan and see how it will best work.
There’s a reason the Warriors continue to be counted among the finest in the National Basketball Association, and they’re bent on living up to their prognoses. They took a not insignificant risk bringing Paul in, and if nothing else, the small sample size provided by the 13 minutes he was in yesterday’s contest showed their grand experiment can work. Exactly how much it will is anybody’s guess at this point, but if it ultimately fails, it won’t be because they didn’t try.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
