Despite fluctuating role, Jordan Bell remains solid
By Ben Ladner
On playoff teams, where playing time can be sparse for players on the margins of the rotation, rookies must be so exemplary that the team can hardly afford not to play them in order to find meaningful minutes. Almost from Day One, Jordan Bell proved to be too good to be kept out of the rotation, and less than half a season into his career, he’s a fixture on the best team in the NBA. The Warriors have continually bet big on Bell, and the rookie has repeatedly justified their faith.
It’s clear that Kerr believes Bell can be a major — and perhaps even critical — part of his team’s postseason success. He’s trusted the rookie in major matchups and high-pressure situations, including starts in Golden State’s only two meetings with the Cavaliers, and Bell has hardly looked out of place. It’s also notable that usual starter Zaza Pachulia received DNPs in both meetings as more skilled and mobile players like David West and Kevon Looney logged the backup center minutes. Pachulia’s edge and physicality comes in handy in the right matchups, but as more teams mimic the Warriors’ small, interchangeable style, the bruisers get phased out.
Bell is a more modern player, capable of switching, defending the rim and making basic plays out of pick-and-rolls, and the Warriors have been slightly better with him on the floor than with any other center. Defending Cleveland requires big men that can step out and contest jumpers and capably negotiate ball screens, where LeBron James exposes weak links. Bell helps with both endeavors while also serving as a daunting rim protector. Golden State surrenders a stingy 102.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. That number drops to 91.4 when he shares the floor with Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Kerr prefers to spare Green the physical toll of playing center if he can help it. Bell is the team’s closest Green facsimile at center and can offer similar back-line defense.
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Bell is limited offensively, but there’s value in understanding that and knowing how not to interfere, and he’s found it. The offense hums at over 1.19 points per possession when Bell plays, a mark that would lead the league by a wide margin. Though he doesn’t necessarily space the floor, he seldom seems to constrict it, and a keen special awareness prevents him from hindering the offense his team so cleanly executes. Rather than mucking up Golden State’s flow with wayward drives, ambitious passing or errant shots, Bell opts instead to “run every single time, and pass it to the light skin dudes and the skinny dude,” as he plainly puts it. In return, he benefits when teams go to extreme lengths to limit his teammates’ production.
His minutes and effectiveness will continue to depend on matchups — and how long it’s been since Looney or JaVale McGee has gotten off the bench. West might still be the Warriors’ best all-around center. The Warriors won’t see Cleveland again until June — if then — but there are teams along the Western Conference trail against whom Bell will be useful. Houston is built to match the Warriors’ size and style, and Clint Capela poses challenges Pachulia and West aren’t particularly equipped to handle. Oklahoma City might have the best athletes of any playoff opponent Golden State could feasibly encounter.
The wild card that could most drastically alter Bell’s role is Andre Iguodala, who despite his sterling reputation is in the midst of the least productive season of his career. He could simply be storing up for another playoff run, but if he can’t ramp up his effectiveness, would Kerr reconfigure his closing lineup? That’s an extreme circumstance, but it would represent an opportunity for Bell, who could be an option to fill that spot and figures to become a prominent player in the coming years.
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That he’s already an above-average role player should scare the rest of the league, and it underscores not just the Warriors’ eye for talent and perfect ecosystem, but also Bell’s malleability and versatility. Whether it’s corralling a guard on the perimeter, blocking shots from the help side or even pinpointing passes from the free-throw line, Bell’s utility patches most any hole the Warriors’ other centers can’t. He may be on a short leash now, but Bell may well force the Warriors’ hand once again.