The Warriors will be short-handed again Sunday against the Clippers, and this time the absences hit at the top of the roster. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are resting so they don’t have to go through three games in four days, leaving Golden State to sort out its lineup without two of its most important veterans.
Golden State has already tried this once. In the game without Curry and Green, the Warriors fell to the Suns 131-122. Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford sat out that night, but both are set to play Sunday.
Since then, the Warriors have won three straight to move to 3-3, and the rotation picture has started to sharpen. The biggest call is at center, where Steve Kerr has a few options but one makes the most sense.
A projected starting five would put Brandon Williams at point guard, Podziemski at shooting guard, Gui Santos at small forward, Yaxel Lendeborg at power forward and Charles Bassey at center.
Against Phoenix, Golden State opened with Will Richard at the 2 and Graham Ike at the 5. Podziemski is the obvious replacement for Richard, but the center spot is the real question. The best guess is that Bassey gets the start.
That choice isn’t based on one number alone, especially this early in the season, but the early indicators are hard to ignore. Per Cleaning the Glass, Bassey has a plus-40.3 net rating, compared with minus 9.4 for Horford and minus-29.2 for Ike.
There’s also the small-ball possibility with Lendeborg at center, but the Warriors have been awful defensively when Green, Bassey, Horford and Ike are all off the floor. That lineup has posted a 162.5 defensive rating, which sits in the lowest possible percentile.
Golden State also has a second unit look that has already shown some juice. The Warriors can pull four starters and bring in De’Anthony Melton, Richard, Georges Niang and Horford.
Without Williams on the floor, that group doesn’t feature a traditional point guard, but the idea is to make up for it with movement and shooting. It worked against the Suns, where that lineup posted a plus-25.0 net rating.
Another lineup wrinkle comes later in the game, when the Warriors again go without a true point guard. Even so, a group with Melton, Gary Payton II and Podziemski should bring plenty on the defensive end. For spacing, though, Golden State needs shooting around Bassey, which is why Niang fits and Payton is the cleaner player to keep in a smaller role.
The Bassey-versus-Horford decision is tricky because both have played well alongside Williams, Podziemski, Santos and Lendeborg. There doesn’t seem to be a bad answer, but the lean here is to finish with Horford’s experience.
The projected minutes break down this way: Podziemski 34, Lendeborg 32, Santos 32, Williams 24, Melton 24, Horford 24, Richard 22, Bassey 18, Niang 16, Payton 8 and Ike 6.
With Curry out, the Warriors need players who can either stretch the floor or pile up points. That’s another reason Payton figures to have a smaller role Sunday. The team could also give LJ Cryer a look, but Podziemski, Melton and Richard have all been playing well enough that there’s no obvious reason to steal their minutes.
Williams hasn’t been efficient offensively, but he’s already shown he can pop for a big night. He did it against the Suns, finishing with 20 points and five assists in 24 minutes.
In Other News...
Warriors Suddenly Face A Brutal Test Without Curry And Draymond
The Warriors head into their matchup with the Clippers already short-handed, and the timing stings after a strong showing against the Lakers. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will both be out, with Curry dealing with a right knee injury and Green sidelined by a bilateral low back injury, leaving Golden State without its two most important veterans for a game that now looks a lot trickier.
Curry had just put up 31 points in the win over Los Angeles, while Green added nine assists in a performance that helped steady the group on both ends. Without them, the Warriors lose their top scoring threat and one of their best organizers, which puts even more pressure on the rest of the roster to carry the load against a Clippers team that will be ready to take advantage. [Read more 🡒]
Luka And The Lakers Just Humiliated A Warriors Rookie Who Talked Big
Yaxel Lendeborg had a rough night in the Warriors comeback win over the Lakers, the kind of game that can humble a rookie fast. The first-year forward finished with six points and five turnovers, and afterward he was candid about how much he still has to learn when defenses tighten and the game starts slipping away.
Stephen Curry, though, did not sound worried about the long view. He said he believes Lendeborg can bounce back from a performance like that, and for Golden State that matters as much as anything else, because the rookies next test will be less about proving he belongs and more about showing he can lean on his teammates when the pressure spikes. [Read more 🡒]
Steph Curry Had One Extra Message In That Luka Moment
Stephen Currys latest big night came with a little extra theater attached. The Warriors dug out of a 25-point hole to beat the Lakers 112-95 and even the season series at 1-1, with Curry pouring in 31 points and punctuating the comeback with a viral ankle-breaker against Luka Doncic, who still finished with 37 for Los Angeles.
Curry said the sequence carried more than just the usual bragging rights, and he also pointed to his motivation to back teammate Yaxel Lendeborg. It was the kind of postgame detail that gives a comeback win a little more texture, especially when it comes against a rival and includes a highlight that will keep circulating long after the final buzzer. [Read more 🡒]