Former Warriors guard believes Anderson can have similar impact to his originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Led by a beardless Steph Curry, whose body was more reminiscent of the college sensation he was at Davidson than what he has become now at age 36, the Warriors’ dynasty began a decade ago, escaping the label of team on the rise and growing into something that the game has never seen.
Steve Kerr’s arrival as head coach prior to the 2014-15 season also coincided with him receiving the perfect wrench to add to his toolbox, offsetting Curry’s unique skill set for another unusual approach to the point guard position. Shaun Livingston is two inches taller than Curry, and his shot selection isn’t in the same stratosphere.
How much? Curry, in February of last season, made 79 threes in 14 games, six more than Livingston attempted in his 14-year NBA career. Kerr and the Warriors didn’t need another Curry clone. The opposite was what unleashed an unstoppable force and caused the birth of Strength in Numbers.
Five years after retirement, Livingston sees Kyle Anderson, Warriors off-season addition as someone who can have a similar impact by being very different Curry and Kerr’s rushing attack.
“You put him with other guys like Draymond [Green] who can think the game. Steph and [Brandin Podziemski] and some of those guys that can space the floor too, that’s where the similarities can come from a player like me playing with Steph and Klay [Thompson] and being able to fit in,” Livingston told NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast. “It’s kind of like pieces of the puzzle, where they might have certain strengths that he doesn’t have, but he might have certain strengths that they don’t have.
“It’s just about finding the right balance and the right chemistry.”
Last season in Minnesota was a low point for Anderson behind the 3-point line, an area of the court that has rarely been an advantage for the veteran entering his 11th season and first in San Francisco. Anderson shot a modest 22.9 percent from deep, a season after shooting a career-best 41 percent. His break-even point is probably somewhere in between, around his career average of 33.8%.
For everything Anderson isn’t, he makes up for it with what he is: an extremely intelligent player who can be mismatched in blocking and handling the ball to start the offense while also standing at 6 feet tall, two inches taller than Livingston and nearly 40 pounds heaviest.
Like Livingston, Anderson also knows how to get the best out of his stars.
In Livingston’s first season with the Warriors, he and Curry produced a 112.7 offensive rating and a 19.5 net rating in just 289 minutes together. Kerr then played the two twice more together the following season and saw them have an offensive rating of 117.8 and a net rating of 23.3. Although he only started a total of 15 games in five years as a Warrior and his usual role was to be an off-speed shooter after a barrage of fastballs from Curry, the two were a match made for each other.
Take Anderson and Anthony Edwards for example. Despite starting 10 games as a steady hand off the bench, only Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert had better net ratings with the Timberwolves star than Anderson in the team’s rookie year. Towns and Gobert each had an 8.9 net rating with Edwards last season, and Anderson was right behind at 8.8.
“If you can think the game and understand spacing, timing and scoring – all the nuances of the game of basketball – there is a spot for you on this roster, playing for a coach like Steve Kerr,” Livingston says. “He likes this type of player and it makes his job easier. There might be an adjustment, but from a fit standpoint, I think he’s one of the smartest players in the league, to be honest with you.”
Livingston believes Anderson will be worth more to the Warriors is where they were lacking last season. The Warriors lost a combined 307 games of playoff experience between Thompson (158) and Chris Paul (149) during the offseason, adding 66 under Anderson. Taking slow, steady wins to run to the extreme, Anderson can calm the game when it speeds up for everyone else.
“In the playoffs the goal is to make the other team play with their left hand, their weak hand,” Livingston said. “It’s a chess match and you need guys who are cerebral, who can think the game, and that’s Slo Mo.”
He’s not a star, nor is he the big-name running mate of the Warriors have sought to play alongside Curry. However, a decade later, Anderson’s impact on the Warriors will be very important in getting them back to where they feel they belong in the NBA pecking order.
