The Golden State Warriors have revealed their first starting lineup for the season, opting against sliding Draymond Green to the five despite the absence of Kristaps Porzingis who is missing training camp through illness.
Steve Kerr has confirmed Green will start at power forward in a frontcourt also featuring rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and veteran Al Horford, while Brandin Podziemski will join Stephen Curry in the starting backcourt.
Warriors make clear desire not to start Draymond Green at center
Porzingis' absence does leave a question mark for Kerr and Golden State at the center position, but Thursday's lineup reveal suggests they're eager not to burden Green by playing him at the five which was the case at the start of last season.
The Warriors will instead start Horford as a placeholder for Porzingis, allowing them to preserve a more traditional starting lineup while still having the floor-spacing big as they lean more into a five-out approach this season.
While not an issue in the regular season where the win-loss result hardly matters, it will be fascinating to see whether Golden State remain with a similar setup if Porzingis is unavailable come opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers in a few weeks.
The Warriors were hesitant to start Horford last season given he was and will presumably remain on a minutes restriction. If the 40-year-old is starting games while also being in consideration for the closing lineup, that leaves very little time to utilize him during the middle of games.
Gui Santos is obvious omission from Warriors first starting lineup
Part of the argument to slide Green to the five would be to create room for Brazilian forward Gui Santos, allowing Golden State to start both forwards and Lendeborg in what would be a versatile frontcourt combination.
Santos is the obvious omission from the starting lineup, having been a starter for 29 of the Warriors' last 31 games last season where the 24-year-old was clearly the most exciting development during an injury-plagued period for the franchise. Santos averaged 15.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists after the All-Star break, shooting 48.7% from the floor before going for 20 points in the thrilling Play-In Tournament victory over the L.A. Clippers.
The former second-round pick should count himself unlucky not be in the first starting lineup, but it also proves how excited the Warriors are about Lendeborg after the 11th overall pick won Summer League MVP and led the team to a championship in July.
It also proves that Golden State might be done with having Green as a primary option at center, with Porzingis still to return and Charles Bassey also a legitimate rotation option heading into the season.
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