During the Golden State Warriors‘ 116-115 preseason victory over the Sacramento Kings, Steve Kerr received his first glimpse at what Chris Paul brings to the offense down the stretch.
Paul was the primary ballhandler with Steph Curry in an off-ball role during their time together in the fourth quarter. While Curry made headlines for his game-winning 3, Kerr was encouraged by what he saw from his team’s marquee summer addition.
Speaking to the media after the game, Steve Kerr pinpointed a couple of possessions where Paul’s playmaking ability rewarded Curry for his off-ball movement. The veteran guard’s ability to organize the offense was one of the things that impressed Kerr the most.
“It’s fun to see Chris get us organized,” Kerr said. “I think he makes Steph’s off-ball stuff better, because wherever he goes, Chris will get him the ball. So they had a couple of plays where Steph was getting top-locked and had to make a back-cut. … Chris got him the ball in perfect rhythm. Chris has been doing this forever. That’s who he is.”
Paul played 8 minutes in the final quarter against the Kings, providing 5 points and 4 assists, as he looked to make an impact in his first clutch-time minutes for his new team. Paul will likely feature heavily in the Warriors’ “stretch minutes” throughout the regular-season. Golden State will be a better team with him on the floor based on his first showing.
With one preseason contest left, it will be interesting to see if Kerr looks to gather more data on Paul’s impact in the final minutes of a game or if he waits until the season begins to unleash his new back-court tandem in the closing minutes of games.
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