CLEVELAND — After the first 100 games of the season, Warriors coach Steve Kerr boldly unveiled a new lineup in the NBA Finals that included Andre Iguodala and benched Andrew Bogut. ADVERTISING CLEVELAND — After the first 100 games of
CLEVELAND — After the first 100 games of the season, Warriors coach Steve Kerr boldly unveiled a new lineup in the NBA Finals that included Andre Iguodala and benched Andrew Bogut.
In reaction, the veteran players quietly went about their business.
“He just nodded his head and said, ‘All right, let’s go,’ ” Kerr said of Iguodala.
“All he said is, ‘If we win, I don’t care,’ ” forward Draymond Green said of Bogut.
The switcheroo worked as the Warriors crushed the Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Finals to even the series. Now two wins away from a championship, the Warriors recalled how their magical season took place against the backdrop of sacrifices made by players willing to trust their rookie coach.
“Because everyone’s been so selfless, that’s what’s allowed us to be successful,” Warriors forward Harrison Barnes said.
Iguodala conceded his starting spot to Barnes this season and didn’t get back into the lineup until Thursday’s 103-82 win put him in the conversation for Finals MVP.
Kerr reasoned that Iguodala’s presence in the lineup would help improve the Warriors’ pace against the Cavaliers, and it did. Kerr theorized in the regular season that having Barnes start instead of Iguodala would allow Barnes to flourish after a rough second year in the league, and that worked as well.
“I thought it set a tone for our team from the beginning, a sacrifice,” Kerr said.
David Lee, after recovering from an injury at the start of the season, became the second former All-Star to accept a reduced role. Green was having a breakout year, leaving Lee at times completely out of Kerr’s rotation.
The team’s highest-paid player, Lee kept smiling. He refused to even concede he disagreed with Kerr’s decision not to play him in some games this season, his 10th in the NBA.
“When Coach Kerr inserted me into the starting lineup, David never mumbled a word about it,” Green said. “He never gave up on me. He never stopped supporting me.”
Green also praised Lee and Iguodala for always playing hard when called upon as reserves this season.
“They’re two of the longest-tenured NBA players on our team, and they act like it. That’s why this team has been successful this year — because of guys like that willing to sacrifice, but yet staying ready.”
Perhaps Lee’s finest hour this season came when he played his first minutes of the Finals in Game 3 and gave the Warriors life with his 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. The Warriors lost but found themselves in that fourth quarter.
“We kept talking all year about, ‘Your time’s going to come. Stay with it,’ ” Kerr said. “He believed it, and he stayed with it, and he’s making a big impact.”
So even when Bogut played only three minutes in Game 4 amid his continued struggles against Cleveland, he remained engaged.
“I thought he took it great,” Barnes said. “He was very positive. He was loud, cheering on the bench. No one thought anything of it. It was just look, we’re all trying to achieve a common goal, and that’s to win a championship.”
Said Bogut of the lineup that could be used again in Game 5 at Oracle Arena on Sunday, “Hopefully, we’ll get a ring doing it.”
Bogut said he drew inspiration from fellow big man Marreese Speights, who on any given night in the playoffs can provide a key contribution off the bench or not play at all.
“I’m not in a position to sit here and pout over things,” Bogut said. “We have a lot of professionals.”
After Game 4, Bogut said the lineup change that left him mostly on the bench “worked perfectly.”
