Brandin Podziemski will miss the Warriors' season opener against the Lakers on Wednesday because of lower back soreness, leaving opening night a little thinner for a team already managing several absences.
Anthony Slater reported Tuesday that Podziemski will not play in Los Angeles. The fourth-year guard had been available throughout the preseason, appearing in all five preseason games before being ruled out for the opener.
Why this matters for the Warriors
Podziemski's absence is notable because he was a steady part of the Warriors' rotation last season, when he played all 82 games and averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The Warriors rewarded that role in October with a 5-year, $110 million extension, a sign of how important they view his two-way value.
Now, instead of bringing that continuity into opening night, the Warriors will have to reshuffle their lineup against the Lakers. The team is also missing Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porziņġis to start the year, which adds more pressure on the available guards and wings to handle minutes and ball movement.
Opening-night rotation questions
The injury does not just remove a productive guard. It also affects how the Warriors can piece together their Lakers Starting Five and the rest of the early rotation. Stephen Curry remains the focal point, but Podziemski's absence limits some of the lineup flexibility the Warriors would normally like to use.
With the season opener set for Wednesday at 10 ET, the immediate takeaway is simple: the Warriors will need to adjust quickly. Opening night is rarely the time teams want to lose a rotation player, especially one who had been available for every game last season and had not missed any of the preseason.
