SAN FRANCISCO – If almost two decades of Steph Curry – including 13 years spent alongside fellow all-time great shooter Klay Thompson – has taught the Warriors anything, it is to feed the hot hand.
And as Al Horford buried one 3-pointer after another against Thompson and his Mavericks, his teammates looked to give him every opportunity to bomb away during a victory on Christmas Day.
He finished 4 of 6 from 3-point land for 14 points in just 11 minutes, returning from a seven-game sciatica-induced absence by reminding both his team and the world of what an impactful force he can be for the Warriors.
Horford has only played in 14 games thus far, but his teammates know how potent he can be even in limited minutes.
“He definitely spreads the floor, challenges shots at the rim, and is a high-IQ-type player,” Jimmy Butler said. “Then he’s just really, really fun to play with. As long as you’re out there having fun, being joyful, ball’s moving, you’re guarding, you’re competing, that’s who he is, that’s who he’s always been.”
Looking ahead and assuming Horford is able to consistently play anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes most nights, the Warriors’ center rotation goes from shaky to, suddenly, an area of strength.
Quinten Post, though mired in a shooting slump, is still a high-volume 3-point shooter who provides rim protection. Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a revelation over the last few games, and he scored a season-high 10 points against Dallas.
With Horford in the mix and Draymond Green always an option to man the center position should the Warriors go small, two-big lineups with passable shooting are now a viable option for coach Steve Kerr.
“To have Trayce (Jackson-Davis) out there doing the same, defending, blocking shots, and then to have Al suddenly we have a pretty solid front line should we choose to go big,” Kerr said.
While Horford is expected to bolster the front line, De’Anthony Melton has taken great strides in his conditioning. Since returning from an ACL injury that sidelined him for over a year, Melton has been limited to 20 or less minutes a night.
That changed against Dallas, and he played a season-high 24 minutes while scoring 16 points and taking the second-most shots on the team (14).
Kerr loved Melton’s aggression, even as he began the game mired in an 0-for-16 slump from 3-point distance. Both coach and player agreed that Melton needs to continue to take those open shots, even if they are not falling for a guard who profiles as the team’s best point-of-attack defender.
You have to remember he hasn’t played really for most of two years, that’s a long time to be out,” Kerr said. “He’s still getting his rhythm back. You saw when he hit the 3 at the end he sort of put his hands to the heavens. He’s had a lot of open threes that haven’t gone in yet, it will start going once his legs are underneath him and he’s found his groove.”
Though the percentages have not been stellar at 27% shooting in seven games, Melton flashed the two-way ability that made him coveted by the Warriors in spite of his injured knee.
He repeatedly attacked the rim and was one of the Warriors’ few consistent threats to get into the paint off a live dribble.
Speaking after the team’s third consecutive victory and looking ahead to a three-game trip beginning in Toronto on Sunday, Melton was optimistic that his minutes will only be able to increase as he approaches the new year.
“I think definitely my conditioning has gotten better,” Melton said. “Before, my first five minutes of the game, I feel like I’m ready to pass out. But now, I feel a lot better, I feel like I can play a lot longer.”
After looking stagnant for long stretches of the first part of the season, Horford’s return and Melton’s continued emergence have suddenly given the Warriors a boost — and a reliable rotation for the first time this season.
Seth Curry was the only player on the injury report, giving Kerr the option of playing every expected contributor for the first time this season.
“I feel like we’re in a good place. We have a rotation, we’re healthy,” Kerr said.
Whether Melton and Horford can sustain the level of play they showed against Dallas should have a large impact on whether the team is able to climb up the competitive Western Conference standings.
The Mercury News
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