Lindy Waters III beats the buzzer and the Clippers

The Golden State Warriors started the preseason in style on Saturday in Honolulu, beating the LA Clippers 91-90 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from sharpshooting offseason acquisition Lindy Waters III.

Golden State had the ball, down two, with about 10 seconds left, inbounding from their own sideline. On two straight inbounds plays, they attempted to get the ball to Waters, who had been lights out from three-point range. Both times the Clippers deflected the inbounds pass from Gui Santos, forcing the Dubs to try again. On the third attempt, Santos inbounded the ball to Reece Beekman, who went isolation, got a mid-range jumper, and missed. The ball pinballed out of bounds, leaving the Warriors just 1.6 seconds on the clock for a fourth inbounds attempt.

This time it worked. They got the ball to Waters — who led the team with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting (all three-point attempts) — and he rose up for a buzzer-beater that will hopefully set the tone for the season.

Not a bad way to start the year!

So how did the Warriors get there? Well, we got a taste of Steve Kerr’s desired rotations, starting with the opening lineup: Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

There’s not much to read into Kuminga starting over Andrew Wiggins, as Wiggins was ruled out with an illness. But it’s certainly notable that Kerr — who has maintained that Kuminga is a power forward, while the youngster and Green have both claimed he’s a three — gave JK a chance to start at small forward. And we certainly saw which way Kerr is leaning at to start alongside Curry in the backcourt, and alongside Green in the frontcourt.

Things started slowly against a Clippers team that was playing without Kawhi Leonard, though James Harden was playing. But after falling behind 9-3 with some sloppy play, the Dubs found some traction, led by transition brilliance from Kuminga, and they rattled off a 9-0 run. But the Clippers answered with an 8-0 run of their own, as the Warriors went with a total line change, shifting to a five-man unit of Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson, and Kevon Looney. Hield wasted no time fitting in, taking and making a three on his first shot attempt. More transition offense led the way, but the Warriors trailed 26-23 after the first frame.

The second half was excellent, and led by Moses Moody, who shot 3-5 in the frame, with a pair of triples. The system seemed to be operating well on both ends, though the players were still a little rusty and sloppy, which is to be expected. Golden State led 53-49 at the break.

To nobody’s surprise, Kerr didn’t push the starters. Kuminga and Jackson-Davis were still in the starting five for the third quarter, but the night was over for Curry, Green, and Melton. The teams went back-and-forth as they turned things over to their subs, and the Clippers led 71-69 going into the final quarter.

The back-and-forth affair continued all through the fourth quarter, with neither team ever able to pull away. It wasn’t until Waters splashed in his three that we had a good idea as to who would win the game.

Moody was the only Warrior other than Waters to hit double figures, as he scored 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, and finished with a team-best +14, in addition to four rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Kuminga had a delightful seven points and seven rebounds (though he wasn’t too efficient), and Melton impressed with how well he fit next to Curry on both ends of the court.

And the Warriors won. What’s not to like?