Six starting lineups in seven games looks like a coach who cannot make up his mind. Sunday’s group against the Clippers was Charles Bassey in his first start of the season, alongside Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, Georges Niang and Yaxel Lendeborg, and it was the Golden State Warriors’ sixth different starting five in seven games. The count overstates the problem. Most of the churn comes from who was available, and once you take that out, only one spot is actually unsettled.
Why the Churn Looks Like a Problem
The worry is fair. The Warriors started 0-3, and through those three games they used a different starting lineup every night. Chemistry built in the first five minutes of each half is real, and Golden State has had almost no chance to build it.
The guard spot without Stephen Curry keeps flipping too. The last time the Warriors played without Curry, they started Brandon Williams at point guard. On Sunday they went with Melton instead, and Steve Kerr has not yet settled which of the two holds that job.
Rest and Injuries Explain Most of It
Look at why each lineup changed, and almost every switch traces back to the injury report rather than to indecision. Sunday’s group existed because Curry and Draymond Green were both resting on the front end of a back-to-back. The fourth lineup came after Curry, Green, Podziemski and Al Horford returned from resting against the Suns.
In Minnesota, a knee injury to Gui Santos pushed Niang into the lineup, and Santos missed that Wednesday game. On top of that, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porziņģis have been out the whole time.
The results also cut against the panic. The winning streak started with Curry, Podziemski, Santos, Lendeborg and Green in Denver, and it has now reached four games across several different starting groups. On Sunday, Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points as the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 for their fourth straight win.
The healthy core is clear enough. Curry, Podziemski, Lendeborg and Green start when they are available. Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick, has played all seven games and came into Sunday averaging 19.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Center Is Still an Open Question
Center is the one spot where the instability is real. Horford was the preseason choice: Kerr opened in Hawaii with Curry, Podziemski, Lendeborg, Green and Horford. Since then the Warriors have also played Green at small-ball center against the Nuggets, largely successfully.
Now Bassey has the job. He gave them six points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes, at plus-5, in a game that was his first start of the year. That is three different answers in a month, and the player who was supposed to settle it is not available.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater has reported that the Warriors are exploring potential trades involving Porziņģis, who the Warriors have said will not be around the team in the immediate future. Butler’s eventual return is no help here either, because he is a wing.
The Fix Has to Come From the Front Office
The count of six is mostly noise. Rest days and a crowded injury report caused nearly every change, and the core four will start whenever they are healthy. Kerr’s lineup choices are not the problem.
Center is where Golden State has no answer, and changing the lineup will not produce one. Horford, Bassey and Green at center are three temporary options. With Porziņģis away and being shopped, the next starting-lineup change that matters will probably come from a trade rather than from the injury report.
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