Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors have found a way to frustrate fans one more time in Sunday's regular season finale, controversially removing young forward Gui Santos from the starting lineup in a 115-110 loss to the L.A. Clippers.
Santos has arguably been the biggest positive for the Warriors in an injury-ravaged campaign in recent months, leaving many fans irked by his removal from the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's Play-In elimination game that will also take place against the Clippers at the Intuit Dome.
Warriors fans left frustrated by Gui Santos removal from starting lineup
Playing without the resting Draymond Green, Golden State went to a double big starting lineup that featured former Boston Celtics duo Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. However, it was the fact Kerr also started three guards -- Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton -- that drew the ire of fans when Santos could have easily retained his spot at small forward.
The Brazilian was still the first off the bench, playing nearly 17 minutes where he recorded seven points, seven rebounds and two assists on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor.
I remember when folks were excited about Gui Santos’ increased role which included being a starter.
— Cy (@SurfJournalist) April 12, 2026
That’s the Steve Kerr experience for you. 😒 https://t.co/FFOmkHp33q
Where is Gui Santos? pic.twitter.com/qykPdYPCn4
— mateus (@erondigital) April 13, 2026
The reasoning may have been that without Green available, Kerr wanted more ball-handling in the starting lineup, hence Melton's inclusion over Santos. With the former Defensive Player of the Year set to return on Wednesday, Kerr could easily go back to the Curry-Podziemski-Santos-Green-Porzingis starting lineup with Golden State's season on the line.
With the Portland Trail Blazers beating the Sacramento Kings as expected, there was little meaning to the result of Sunday's game. Instead, it was about finding a rhythm for the Warriors after a significant period where injuries have left their rotation completely uncertain.
While Golden State struggled again in losing to a Clippers team minus Kawhi Leonard, there is optimism to be taken from the performance of Stephen Curry. The 2x MVP had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 from 3-point range in less than 29 minutes.
Charles Bassey impressed again to finish as the Warriors' second-leading scorer, going for 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in less than 19 minutes off the bench. Porzingis (12) and Podziemski (10) were the only other two Golden State players to reach double figures in scoring, but combined to shoot just 6-of-18 from the floor as the visitors shot less than 42% as a team.
The Clippers will surely go into Wednesday's elimination game as favorites, but the Warriors at least have some pieces back in place to offer hope of moving on to a second Play-In game.