Steve Kerr announced the Golden State Warriors’ starting lineup for their preseason opener against the Clippers on Sunday, and it featured a mild surprise.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg will get the nod at small forward over Gui Santos, who started 26 of the last 29 regular-season games last year.
The rest of the starters are Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Draymond Green and Al Horford.
Horford doesn’t figure to be a consistent starter for the Warriors, but with Kristaps Porzingis out with a health issue, it’s no surprise the 40-year-old starts at center.
Kerr gave a detailed explanation for why he likes this five-man unit.
“Really good size on the front line,” Kerr said. “Good playmaking from obviously Steph and Dray together, but also spacing from Al. Al, Yaxel and BP can all shot the three but also make plays. So it’s a good, well-balanced lineup.
“The question will be, can we do that opening night given the age of Al, the minutes, and all that stuff? Who knows. But for now, that’s how we’ll start.”
Kerr is hinting at eventually having Horford come off the bench to limit how many minutes he plays.
The 40-year-old averaged 21.5 minutes per game last season. Starters typically play at least the mid-20s in minutes.
So much of the Warriors’ lineup decisions will come down to Porzingis’ availability. When both he and Horford are healthy, one would assume they’ll play just about all of the 48 available center minutes.
When one is out, the Dubs will have to consider lineups with Green or Charles Bassey at center.
Kerr has already said he doesn’t want to play Lendeborg at center, which should open up more opportunities for Bassey.
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