Barber: Warriors' center position a work in progress

OAKLAND

The Warriors’ Jordan Bell is known to do some things on a basketball court. Shooting jumpers usually isn’t one of them. Last year, his first in the NBA, just 7.6 percent of Bell’s points came on midrange jumpers, and you can bet that most of those were in the 8-to-12-foot range.

So it grabbed your attention when, a little more than nine minutes into Saturday’s 116-100 win against the Brooklyn Nets at Oracle Arena, Bell caught a kick-out pass from Kevin Durant and sank an 18-foot shot right in front of the visitors’ bench. It certainly caught the Nets’ attention. Bell knows some of those guys, like D’Angelo Russell and Kenneth Faried, and apparently they were jokingly taunting him to take the shot.

After sinking it, Bell had a quick word for his tormentors.

“I was like, ‘Shut up, man,’” he reflected. “That’s all I said: ‘Shut up.’”

Bell continued: “I always wanted to do that. Somebody saying something like, ‘Oh, (bleep) no, hell no.’ We do the same thing our side of the bench. It felt good for them to say that to me and I make it. You turn around and they’re just looking like stupid, so it’s kind of dope.”

Saturday night, Bell was feeling pretty dope. Two nights earlier, he had felt duped.

He got his first start of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, which meant a chance to go head-to-head with budding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. It went poorly. Bell picked up two fouls in the first 4:46 of the game, headed to the bench and never made much of an impact.

Saturday was a different story. Bell played active defense and had seven rebounds and a blocked shot in about 27 minutes, not to mention that silky outside shot. Granted, the Bucks are better than the Nets, and Antetokounmpo is certainly better than anyone who suits up for Brooklyn. The Nets were also on the wrong end of back-to-back nights in Denver and Oakland.

Still, the Nets aren’t slouches. They brought a 6-6 record and a three-game winning streak into this contest, and two of those recent victories came against the 76ers and the Nuggets, two likely playoff teams.

The Warriors were clinical and efficient in dispatching Brooklyn, winning each of the first three quarters by six-?to-eight points and taking a comfy 94-74 lead into the final period. A lot of things went right for the NBA champions. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were as accurate as they’re supposed to be, and Quinn Cook poured in 27 points in relief of the injured Stephen Curry. The Warriors turned over the ball just 10 times.

Certainly, part of the winning mix was Golden State’s three young big men - Bell, Damian Jones and Kevon Looney. They played well on both ends of the court, and provided two of the game’s signature moments. In addition to Bell’s surprising 18-footer, there was Jones’ spectacular one-hand dunk off a lob from Cook midway through the second quarter.

“That was nasty as hell,” Bell said in admiration. “Damian’s just different. I thought I was athletic, but I think he’s got that title.”

The Warriors’ three young bigs didn’t play all that well as a group Thursday night, and their team lost. They were much better Saturday, and the Warriors won. This theme will be re-explored throughout the 2018-19 season. Question No. 1 for Steve Kerr’s team this year is how All-Star center and summer free-agent signee DeMarcus Cousins will fit in when he returns from rehabbing his Achilles’ tendon. But Question No. 1A is how effective Jones, Looney and Bell can be in Cousins’ absence.

These past two games threw that latter query into stark relief because Draymond Green sat out both with a bruised foot. Green is listed as a power forward, but he moves to center in the Warriors’ smaller lineups, which are some of their most effective combinations. When he is unavailable, it puts even more pressure on the kids.

So what went wrong in the Milwaukee game - other than having to work against Antetokounmpo and 7-foot center Brook Lopez?

“Last game I was a little rattled, just because I got to start. And I got Giannis, never played against him before,” Bell admitted. “So very eager. And then (Saturday), we played against this team already. I thought we played pretty well as a team last time we played ’em. … I know they play pretty small, so if they try to drive, just wall up, put my hands straight up, don’t try to foul ’em.”

But Durant provided another clue after Saturday’s game. Asked about the performance of those young post players, Durant noted that it was Jonas Jerebko who started at power forward alongside Jones against the Nets, while it had been Bell and Jones vs. the Bucks.

“I felt like Coach made a good adjustment putting Jonas at the four,” Durant said. “Last game it was kind of hard playing with JB and Damian out there, because they’re two centers. So the spacing is a little messed up. JB’s role is a little different, so he’s trying to figure that out as well as Damian. So I thought last game Coach tried something, and this game he made an adjustment.”

Durant wasn’t exactly torching Kerr, but it’s rare to hear such candid critiques of specific strategies. Without Green, against an opponent with a lot of length, Kerr went with a two-center starting lineup. It didn’t work. He made another tweak against Brooklyn, and it all went much better. Jones had eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes. Looney got into foul trouble but logged 13 minutes and blocked two shots.

“I thought all of ’em were good,” Kerr said. “I thought Looney got some tough calls. He got in foul trouble, but was in great position defensively. Jordan was active, made some nice plays, dribble handoffs - just making the simple play. And Damian continues to give us good minutes. Tonight was a really good night for Damian to have to switch onto guards and stay in front on the perimeter. I thought he did a really good job.”

That’s not to say Kerr has found the recipe. This entire season is likely to be an exercise in center-swapping, perhaps even after Cousins suits up. We know that Curry, Durant, Green and Klay Thompson will log heavy minutes if they’re healthy. But the post position promises to be a revolving door, because Jones, Looney and Bell all have different skill sets, and none of them has established dominance.

Kerr will select his starting center each night depending on the matchup, and who has the hot hand. It won’t be a success every time. But if the Warriors are going to make this season stress-free, Kerr will have to make the right decision more times than not.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.