One week before the season opener, the Warriors still do not have their opening-night starting lineup nailed down. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement of stability, but it does tell you where Steve Kerr’s head is at: he is leaning toward a group that tries to survive the center shortage by being stubbornly flexible.
Earlier this week, Kerr said he was leaning toward a starting five of Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg, Steph Curry and Draymond Green. In other words, the Lakers starting lineup battle is still live, and the Warriors are still working through the awkward reality of a roster that does not have a clean answer in the middle.
A frontcourt problem, not a mystery
The logic is plain enough. Kristaps Porziņģis is not on the practice court, Al Horford does not play back-to-backs, and Charles Bassey is not currently viewed as deserving a starting role. So if Kerr is looking for a practical solution rather than a flashy one, Green becomes the obvious pivot point. It is hardly glamorous, but it is functional, and this stage of October is about function.
That is also why Tuesday mattered. Bassey started in Green’s absence during the Warriors’ preseason win over the Lakers, which at least gave the coaching staff a look at one possible emergency answer. But with Friday the team’s last preseason game before the season kicked off on Wednesday, October 21, the rotation picture still feels unsettled. The Warriors are not just choosing a lineup. They are choosing a compromise.
What the choice says about Golden State
There is a reason Kerr has been so willing to talk in terms of leaning rather than locking anything in. He knows the Warriors need Steph Curry and Draymond Green on the floor for obvious reasons, but the rest of the group is being shaped by necessity as much as by preference. De'Anthony Melton is preferred off the bench, Brandon Williams is seen as a second-unit spark plug, and that leaves the starting group to absorb some uncomfortable arithmetic.
That is the real story here. Golden State’s opening-night lineup is still undecided because the roster has been forced into a very narrow set of options. The Warriors can talk about balance and versatility all they want, but the truth is simpler: with one week to go, they are still trying to patch together a front line that makes sense on paper and does not collapse in practice.
So yes, Kerr leaning toward Podziemski, Santos, Lendeborg, Curry and Green is news. It is also a reminder that the Warriors are entering the regular season with a lineup question they would much rather have solved by now.
