Curry emphasized the need to ‘evolve.’
The hiring of Terry Stotts — former head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers — signaled a potential change in how the Golden State Warriors approach their half-court offense.
Despite having Steph Curry on the team, the Warriors finished 10th in the league in offensive rating with garbage time eliminated from the equation, per Cleaning the Glass. They were also 10th in half-court offensive rating. Such marks technically placed them in the upper half of the league in terms of offensive efficiency, but having Curry — perhaps the greatest offensive talent the league has ever seen — meant those marks weren’t enough to justify his pedigree.
Having coached another sharpshooting guard in Damian Lillard, Stotts can bring a fresh perspective to the offense without necessarily stepping on toes and overhauling what has worked for the Warriors over the last decade. He will still emphasize the ball and player movement that have become the signature of the Warriors’ offense — but with a touch more emphasis on pick-and-roll concepts.
Interesting snippet from Terry Stotts about his approach to offense.
Back when he was Portland’s head coach, he was known for running lots of flare screens and pindowns for the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
A quick thread using one of his Portland plays: “One Chest” pic.twitter.com/51IOSnZNZn
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) July 17, 2024
Curry himself accepts that in order to progress, the team needs to shake up a few things and incorporate new concepts. More importantly, he’s willing and open to try out new things.
Per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area:
“You get smacked in the face and don’t make the playoffs, that’s all the real message you need, the reminder you need that,” Curry said during his media day availability. “We have a way of doing things in terms of how we approach practices, games, the level of competition you need to have.
“But when it comes down to your Xs and Os and the style and all that type of stuff, being open to evolving and pivoting and trying out what, especially how the league continues to evolve as well.
“The good news is like I’m coming into this training camp with an open mind of how we’re supposed to play. I know there’s a Warriors mentality and culture of how we do things. There’s a system that we ran for a decade plus that has worked. It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how this team needs to play. We have to have antennas up on and an openness to accept what this team’s strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and kind of lean into those.”
With preseason right around the corner, expect some changes to concepts and set plays in the half court.