With just under six minutes left in the third quarter of Wednesday’s Game 5 vs. the Rockets, Golden State trailed 93-64. Steve Kerr made the decision to pull the plug and take all of his starters out of the game. Sure, Kerr wants his guys ready to go for a possible Game 6, but did he make this decision too early in the game?
Hindsight is 20/20, but the Warriors’ bench managed to cut the largest gap of the game of 31 points to 14 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. If the Golden State bench was able to go on a run like that, what could the starting five have done?
After the game, Kerr was asked the question by the media. Here was his response:
Kerr gave his team very little leash in the second half to turn things around, discussing at half-time that they had five minutes in the second half to turn things around before benching everyone.
Personally, I think he made the right call, but it was a few minutes premature. If we are talking about a 30-point deficit in the last minute or two of the third quarter, it would make more sense. With six minutes left in the third quarter, there is just too much basketball remaining.
The upside for Kerr is that his guys should be fully rested for Friday’s Game 6, where the Warriors are 5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at 204.
