The Warriors made an unexpected call for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Lakers: Draymond Green is sitting, and Charles Bassey is getting the start at center.
That creates a different look in Golden State’s first five. Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg and Gui Santos join Bassey against Los Angeles, with the 25-year-old big man stepping into a role that would have seemed unlikely not long ago.
Al Horford looked like the obvious answer. He has started 1,091 regular-season games in his career, and he’s still likely to log more minutes than Bassey when both are healthy. But Golden State opted to go a different direction, and the move suggests Bassey may have a larger regular-season role than many expected.
That isn’t coming out of nowhere. Through the first four preseason games, Bassey has been the most effective option of the group under consideration for the starting center spot Tuesday, outperforming Horford and Graham Ike.
Bassey has averaged 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 66.7 percent from the field in 15 minutes per game. Horford has posted 3.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks on 14.3 percent shooting in 18.2 minutes per game. Ike has put up 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 0.3 blocks while shooting 35.3 percent in 16.1 minutes per game.
Bassey also made a strong impression in his five-game run with Golden State last season, when he averaged 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Warriors rewarded him with a partially guaranteed one-year minimum contract, and that looks like a smart decision now.
They couldn’t have known at the time that Kristaps Porzingis would be out indefinitely with a health issue. Even so, Bassey’s path to a real opportunity is now clear.
He won’t stretch the floor, and that lack of perimeter shooting can tighten up the offense. But he gives Golden State something useful: easy finishes around the rim and real rim protection.
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