Al Horford had his first significant moment with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, but less than 24 hours later the franchise was desperately missing the veteran center in their first loss of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Horford played 29 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on the first side of the back-to-back, including playing the last nearly 13 minutes in a thrilling overtime victory. However, his absence the following night was evident, suggesting the Warriors have already failed the 39-year-old with the overt pressure that he's facing to perform in year 19.
The Warriors need to find proven support for Al Horford at center
Horford was Golden State's number one free agency acquisition this offseason, having stolen the 5x All-Star from the Boston Celtics on a two-year, $12 million contract. Yet it clearly came with a caveat that the Warriors have settled on -- that Horford will average only around 20 minutes per game and not participate in both nights of back-to-backs.
Golden State's center rotation beyond Horford is looking bleak to start the season. Quinten Post played less than 13 minutes over the first two games, while Trayce Jackson-Davis received a pair of DNPs in back-to-back wins.
The young duo combined for nearly 33 minutes without Horford on Friday, but the Warriors were clearly less effective without their newest big man available. With Golden State looking to manage Horford's minutes from the start of the season, and with little faith in Post and Jackson-Davis, Steve Kerr started Draymond Green at center over the first two games despite his acknowledgment that it can't happen over the course of a full campaign.
There's no doubt that Horford was and will be a huge signing to address the center rotation, but the Warriors are actually failing him by asking him to be the number one true center with only a pair of late second-round picks as support.
It only adds increased pressure on Horford (and Green for that matter) to not only perform, but also remain healthy across the full season. They'll know from the early minutes dispersion that Kerr wants to avoid Post and Jackson-Davis as much as possible, especially after both failed to step up in the 20-point loss to the Trail Blazers.
It might be on Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office to address the situation by trading for an alternative option, not that it will be likely until closer to the February deadline.