OAKLAND–For the second straight game, Warriors’ rookie Jordan Bell will wear street clothes.
Though the rookie out of Oregon has shown impressive flashes in limited playing time thus far, the depth of the Warriors’ roster will keep Bell off the floor against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening.
“Jordan Bell will be inactive again,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Sunday. “I’m in a really tough spot. It’s a good spot but it’s a tough spot. I don’t know who I should deactivate. Everybody deserves to be active. But (Kevon) Looney played so well the other night and we’re going to need JaVale (McGee) tonight going against (Andre) Drummond. Omri (Casspi) played really well.”
Kerr held Bell out of Friday night’s 120-117 win over the Washington Wizards, a game in which Bell might have seen a considerable amount of playing time during the second half if he was active. After Warriors’ forward Draymond Green was ejected late in the second quarter, Golden State was down a big man at a position Bell provides critical depth.
Without Bell on the bench, Kerr turned to third-year UCLA product Kevon Looney, who emerged as a bright spot in Golden State’s 18-point comeback. Though Looney has struggled mightily early in his career, the forward turned in a tremendous fourth quarter and added three emphatic dunks in the final minutes of the game to send the Warriors to a win.
Against a sizable Detroit squad that possesses depth in the post, Kerr felt he needed JaVale McGee to play, and also wanted to reward Looney for his efforts on Friday. As a result, Bell will not be in uniform.
“Going down the roster, (Pat) McCaw, obviously the vets, most of the vets are safe, but not many other people are safe right now,” Kerr said. “So I went with the rookie. and usually this stuff sorts itself out as we go, guys get banged up and it’s easy to maybe rest somebody on a back-to-back. But right now, it’s tricky to try to find the guy that you should make inactive.”