Warriors’ Game 1 starting five has literally never played an NBA minute together

Andre Iguodala at ... point guard? Well then!

Steve Kerr is a madman, and he shuns the orthodox. In Game 1, as the Golden State Warriors face the San Antonio Spurs, Kerr opted to play this following starting lineup: Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, JaVale McGee (?), and Andre Iguodala (??).

That lineup has never even played a minute in an NBA game together, this season or last.

Obviously, Kerr’s lineup choices have been complicated by Stephen Curry’s knee sprain, which will keep him out at least another week and perhaps the entire first round. Down the stretch of the season, the Warriors had been starting Quinn Cook in his place. Zaza Pachulia had received the most starting nods at center, but McGee and Kevon Looney both took turns in the starting five, too.

Iguodala has playmaking skills, although he’s far from a traditional point guard. But he won’t be tasked with most of the playmaking skills, not with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green both equally capable of running the offense in their own ways, too. While Iguodala hurts the team’s spacing, he does boost their defense.

Kerr might be thinking that defense will win this series, sans Curry. Certainly, San Antonio will find scoring hard all series, missing Kawhi Leonard virtually all year, who led them with more than 25 points per game last year. McGee can be productive when engaged, and Iguodala is the team’s best wing defender. While this team may not have as much shooting, they can always manufacture points with Durant.

But it’s still a pretty Popovich-ian move to start a playoff series — in the very first game! — with a lineup that has literally never played one minute together. Kudos to him for having the nerves to do something like that.