Steve Kerr should make tough call on Golden State Warriors’ starting five

The Golden State Warriors are expected to regain their two-time MVP Stephen Curry against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, his first outing after an 11-game absence with a lower leg injury.

While Curry will be an undoubted boost, it will force a lineup change for a team on an equal season-high five-game winning streak. Adding to the matter is the fact they’ll do it on the road where the Warriors are a dismal 7-23 so far this season.

With the return of Stephen Curry, head coach Steve Kerr will have multiple different options to fill the Golden State Warriors starting lineup.

There’s the incredibly small possibility that Curry, likely to be on a heavy minutes restriction, could in fact come off the bench in a move akin to the start of last year’s postseason. The eventual Finals MVP had missed the last stretch of the regular season, and upon return was a sixth man for the first four games of the first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.

With Andrew Wiggins remaining sidelined while he deals with personal matters, Kerr is unlikely to have Curry repeat his backup role this time around. That begs the question — who hits the bench from the recent starting lineup of Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

Golden State for sure won’t be starting four guards, and Thompson is a regular starter — that leaves the decision to Poole or DiVincenzo. Most would consider the former the obvious option, but there’s a very real argument as to why it should be DiVincenzo.

Firstly, despite the perimeter threat they provide, the three-guard lineup of Curry, Poole and Thompson has been quite underwhelming — they hold a -6 net rating in 342 minutes together this season. They simply haven’t clicked — Poole becomes a third option and that diminishes his offensive value, while on the other end they’re often too small to compete effectively.

Secondly, the Warriors are going to need Poole to be an effective sixth man for them to complete their quest for back-to-back NBA titles. He hasn’t been anywhere close to mastering that this season, largely because injuries and other factors have meant he’s played 41 of his 64 games as a starter. At some point he needs to be reacclimated to a sixth man role, and it needs to be soon as we enter the final stages of the regular season.

Poole will be the easier and more comfortable decision to retain in the starting lineup, but DiVincenzo has shown himself adept in either role. There’s been an urgency about Golden State after the All-Star break, and if Kerr wants that to continue, DiVincenzo should remain in the opening five until Wiggins’ return.