“It’s Incredible to Bring Chris Paul Off the Bench”: Steve Kerr Praises Increased Bench Strength, Gushes Over 19 Year Veteran

The Golden State Warriors lost their opening night clash against the Phoenix Suns and have never looked back since then. Making a few vital adjustments since the loss, Stephen Curry and co. have managed to win their next three games. Demoting Chris Paul to the bench has been among the changes that Steve Kerr has made. With CP3 leading the second unit, the GSW has seen immense success over their last two matchups.

Coming off the bench, Chris Paul has added more balance to the team. Paul bolsters the bench strength of the team, helping other off-the-bench players, such as Dario Saric, Jonathan Kuminga, and Gary Payton Jr. to improve.

For the second consecutive game, the bench has performed pretty well. Backed by the Point God’s 13-point effort, the Warriors bench outscored the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench 52-35.

Speaking about Paul being comfortable in the sixth-man role, Kerr was pleasantly surprised that the team has come together and found their rhythm quicker than he anticipated. During the postgame press conference, the Warriors head coach told Anthony Slater:

“I didn’t know if we were ready after opening night. I thought it was going to take some time. We had to get Draymond back and in shape, had to get the new guys accustomed to what we do. So, these last couple of games have been really encouraging.

It’s incredible to bring Chris Paul off the bench as your backup point guard. It’s incredible, he’s an Hall-Of-Famer. He’s still playing at an incredibly high level and it changes everything when you can start a game off with Steph Curry and bring Chris with a great second unit into the game to keep the pressure on. That’s what I’m seeing, I’m seeing Chris, Dario, Gary, a lot of these guys coming off the bench and making us even better. It’s really encouraging. We have a deep team and really connected… Good start but long way to go obviously.”

Steve Kerr has been optimistic about this Warriors team but said it’s coming together quicker than anticipated: “It’s incredible to bring Chris Paul off the bench.” pic.twitter.com/pjkd6dRURU

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 31, 2023

Chris Paul has been demoted to the bench for the first time in his career

The Golden State Warriors are the sixth franchise that Chris Paul has represented across his career. Throughout these 19 years, CP3 has started most of the games that he has suited up for. For the first time ever, basketball fans were shocked to see Paul being limited to the bench.

The Bay Area side is a guard-heavy roster. Consequently, it is pretty difficult for either of the two undersized guards – Stephen Curry or Chris Paul –  to play the two. Hence, Kerr has made the obvious decision of starting the two-time MVP as the point guard over Paul.

In his first-ever game coming off the bench, Paul was quite efficient. Against the Rockets, he stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. The 38-year-old was also sensational in GSW’s 130-102 win over the Pelicans in their most recent game. Playing merely 25:13 minutes, the 12-time All-Star put up 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 60% FG.

Even though it does make sense for the Warriors to use CP3 as a sixth man, the latter did not appreciate being demoted to such a role. Paul wasn’t too elated while speaking about the new role after the Warriors-Rockets matchup.

“Who likes new things? It ain’t a matter of liking it,” said Paul.

The Warriors will further see a change in the starting lineup once Draymond Green returns after his injury. It’ll be interesting to see how Steve Kerr and his coaching staff can fully utilize all of his star players going ahead.