As rest of NBA plays at breakneck speed, Warriors look to pace stars

SAN FRANCISCO Just playing fast is no longer enough in currently s NBA playing at a brisk pace now the default With players skewing more and more athletic and as long-distance shooting stretches defenses to their limit offenses are pushing the limit on how fast they can play Twenty-two teams are playing with a pace rating of at least up from a year ago It is a trend Warriors coach Steve Kerr whose unit is among that group but sits th through seven games knows well What I m seeing is that teams are spreading you out playing as fast as realizable and making it complex to get to your coverages defensively Kerr noted The faster the actions the more intricate it is for the defense to respond Golden State entered its home matchup with the Suns as losers of two consecutive games in the Midwest Both Milwaukee and Indiana were missing stars against the Warriors but made up for it by pushing the ball up and down the court I thought the pace of the Milwaukee and Indiana games exposed what we were doing defensively and we ve got to improve those things Kerr reported With his roster headlined by four players aged and older Kerr and the organization have made it a citizens priority to keep his stars fresh for the postseason That involves playing at a slower pace something the squad has somewhat succeeded in and something the Warriors intricate halfcourt offense lends itself to We detected the balance once we got Jimmy Butler playing with a little more deliberatness and spacing once Jimmy got the ball Kerr reported He s one of the best iso players in the league The other method involves resting players much to Michael Jordan s chagrin to keep minutes down The Warriors have already sat Al Horford in three games counting Tuesday s predetermined load management to avoid having him play in any back-to-backs But the other three vets Steph Curry Draymond Green Butler have played in all seven of the group s games Both Curry and Butler are averaging north of minutes a night and Green comes in at a shade under at a meeting One of their ironmen streaks could change on Tuesday Golden State listed Butler as questionable with an ailing ankle Butler had previously missed two preseason games with an ankle injury Kerr had hinted at starting to rest his stars during Monday s practice I sat down with Mike Dunleavy and Rick Celebrini Dray Steph and Jimmy the three main guys who are going to play heavy minutes Kerr explained later adding The rules the NBA gives us in terms of which games guys can rest which games they can t That s something we are really having to dive into now that the seasons going and rolling It s not easy but we ll do it collaboratively Related Articles Alex Toohey aims to channel inner Draymond Green for Santa Cruz Warriors Warriors week in review Strong start then a Midwestern malaise Warriors instant analysis Golden State squanders fourth quarter lead against injury-riddled Pacers Warriors center Trayce Jackson-Davis in best shape of his life returns to home state Warriors Kerr responds to Michael Jordan s load management criticisms Finding a way to do that while accruing wins will be far easier this week than the next The Warriors play three of four games at home this week facing bottom-feeders Phoenix and Sacramento before going on the road to Denver then returning to Chase Center for a rematch with Indiana Then the Warriors hit the road where they start at defending champion Oklahoma City before two games in emerging power San Antonio as part of a six-game road trip Kuminga s agent Jonathan Kuminga s agent Aaron Turner made his first appearance at a Warriors competition this season The man who went on a summer media blitz while he negotiated with the Warriors was seen talking with general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr courtside before the contest