Will the Warriors prioritize offense or defense in the starting lineup?

The Golden State Warriors have a big decision to make – despite the immense future potential, it’s becoming blatantly obvious that Jonathan Kuminga’s position in the starting lineup is becoming untenable.

In Kuminga, the Warriors are trying to find a balance between offense and defense. But it’s time to prioritize a certain style in the starting lineup, with Memphis having won all five first quarters in this series

In what shapes as the biggest game of their season, the Golden State Warriors must manufacture a way to overcome their early-game struggles.

Otto Porter Jr. would provide them with that balance of offense and defense, but his injury issues and minutes restriction mean the Warriors are unwilling to use him in a starting role. Instead, the Warriors have two choices – the conservative, tried and tested starting unit, or the explosive offensive one with obvious defensive limitations.

Let’s start with the first one – bringing Kevon Looney back into the starting lineup. Playing Looney and Draymond Green together was commonplace early in the season, but now it’s considered too much of an offensive liability.

Interim coach Mike Brown may go back to Looney though, in particular given the Grizzlies have returned Steven Adams to the starting lineup. The New Zealander has averaged 14 rebounds (including six offensive) across the last two games, with Looney’s presence potentially reducing his interior presence.

The one problem is that the Looney-Green combination has statistically been really poor defensively this series, albeit in very limited time.

In the four minutes they’ve played together this series, the Warriors have a 118.2 defensive rating. As expected, the offense has been a struggle with a rating of 90.9. That’s a net rating of -27.3, but you can probably take it with a grain of salt given its limited exposure.

Golden State’s second option is to use their famed ‘fast-five’ (or whichever nickname you’d prefer to use), a lineup they started throughout the Denver series. This would give them a significant size disadvantage, but perhaps the three-guard lineup can abuse Adams with greater emphasis on the pick-and-roll game offensively.

That three-guard lineup, Curry, Poole and Thompson, has played together for 66 minutes this series. The defensive aspect actually hasn’t been that bad with a rating of 101.3. The issue is that it hasn’t been the offensive juggernaut it has been previously. A 97.4 offensive rating belies the potency that each of those guards possesses.

Usually, it’s considered more important to find a good closing lineup, but the significance of the Warriors’ first-quarter issues means the starting lineup is just as important.

A fast start isn’t just important for their own confidence after a blowout loss in game five, but it’ll calm the nerves and produce an energetic home crowd at Chase Center.