James Wiseman out of starting lineup vs. Timberwolves; Kevon Looney to take his place

A change has been made in Warriors land.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr finally switched the starting lineup, after much speculation preceded the coach himself declaring that he and his staff had to “assess everything” after Golden State’s lopsided loss to the Jazz in Utah.

So what’s the move? Kerr is placing rookie center James Wiseman on the bench in favor of veteran Kevon Looney, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Kerr is going to start Looney instead of Wiseman tonight at center. "Basically you've heard me all year talk about trying to establish ourselves as a defensive team, and the last two games have been disappointing," Kerr said. "The hope is we can get off to a better start."

— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) January 26, 2021

So rather than remove the struggline Kelly Oubre from the lineup, as seemed the obvous move, he’s going with Looney and sitting Wiseman.

As long as the rookie can handle the demotion, which I think he can, this is a nice move from Kerr. The Warriors beat the Lakers behind a lineup of Looney and regular starters Steph Curry, Oubre, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. It’s all in the name of defense, as coach Kerr stated in Letourneau’s tweet.

Monday night will be the first of two match-ups against the Timberwoves, so Kerr will most likely stick with the same group in both games. Look to see how Kerr uses his prized rookie, James Wiseman, off the bench, and if the slightly new starting lineup can improve on the starting unit’s league worst minus-73 point differential. Especially to start the game. The Warriors fell behind 14-0 in Utah, and that simply can’t happen if Golden State is to make the playoffs.

(Photo credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)