Dubs Shake Up Starting Unit, Replace James Wiseman with Kevon Looney

The Golden State Warriors have been notorious for their slow starts this season and after coming off flat off the gates once again in their last game, head coach Steve Kerr decided to tweak his starting lineup on Monday.

Kerr inserted veteran Kevon Looney as the team’s starting center in place of rookie James Wiseman. Looney has played sparingly this year, playing in just 14.1 minutes while scoring 3.8 points and grabbing 3.7 rebounds per game. He has always been one of Kerr’s favorite bigs because of his steady play. But the Warriors have been cautious about his playing time after he’s dealt with various injuries during the past year.

The 19-year old Wiseman is one of the top three favorites to win Rookie of the Year honors at +1100 at Bovada. He leads the Warriors in rebounds and blocks and had started all of Golden State’s first 16 games of the season. But despite Wiseman having a statistically good start, the Warriors’ starting lineup has struggled early on.

Warriors’ Struggling Starting Lineup

Kerr hinted at a starting lineup change after the Warriors were blown out by the Utah Jazz last Saturday, saying that they need to “assess everything as a staff”. Kelly Oubre Jr. has been shooting just 20% from deep but in the end, Kerr decided to take out Wiseman who has also had his share of struggles on both ends of the court.

The spotlight is brightening on the Warriors struggling starting lineup. They are a -73 this season.

Story off a blowout loss in Utah in which they were -26 https://t.co/n0hJKlFRL4

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 24, 2021

The Warriors have the 8th best odds to win the Western Conference at +2800 at BetOnline.ag. If the oddsmakers are correct, then Golden State will be in the thick of the fight for the final playoff spots in their conference.

Prior to Tuesday’s games, Golden State stood at 9-8 and in 8th place in the Western Conference. However, they are just 3-4 in their last seven games played, and at 5-5 in their last 10, they had the second-worst “Last 10 games” record among the West’s Top 8 teams.

There is no doubt that James Wiseman is going to be a big part of Golden State’s future. But with the Dubs’ starting unit entering Monday with the worst net rating in the league at -20.3, Steve Kerr had to make changes. And if the team’s win over the Timberwolves was an indication, it’s a good start.

Warriors Beat Timberwolves

The Warriors beat the Timberwolves in Looney’s first game back in the starting lineup. The veteran played in just 19 total minutes and scored just two points while grabbing five rebounds, issuing five assists, and blocking one shot. However, he had the second-highest plus/minus rating on the team at +21. More importantly, the Warriors won the game 130-108.

Stephen Curry scored 36 points with seven 3-pointers, Andrew Wiggins took it to his old Timberwolves team for 23 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat Minnesota 130-108. https://t.co/J0VHFHuhrb

— KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) January 26, 2021

Meanwhile, Wiseman still had a productive evening even if he came off the bench. The 2nd overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked two shots. However, Wiseman played in only five first-half minutes and had a plus/minus of -2.

The “new” starting unit got the Dubs off to a better start this time around. Golden State fell behind 14-0 to Utah and went on to trail by as much as 40 points during Saturday’s 127-108 loss. Against Minnesota, the Warriors finished the first quarter with a 35-24 lead and never trailed the rest of the way.

James Wiseman isn’t necessarily the culprit for the struggles of the Warriors’ starting five. Nor is Kevon Looney the sole answer to those problems. But by making the change on Monday, Steve Kerr sent a message that he’ll do what it takes to win games. We’ll see how it works in the long run.