The Golden State Warriors will resume their season against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, with the franchise looking to build on the momentum they built prior to the All-Star break.
With Jonathan Kuminga nearing a return from injury, the Warriors are close to having a full complement of players available. That's going to leave some rotation and lineup questions for Steve Kerr, which will only become more critical as the fight for a playoff spot progresses.
The Warriors are set to continue with a significant Draymond Green risk
Prior to the All-Star break and following the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, the Warriors reverted to going small with Draymond Green at the five. The veteran started two of the last three games at center, with rookie big man Quinten Post limited to just 11 minutes per game during that period.
With Kevon Looney averaging around 14 minutes off the bench, Green was left with around 22 minutes per game as the designated center. This represents Golden State's best lineup, but also comes with significant risk over the latter portion of the season.
Playing Green at the five gives Steve Kerr immense flexibility on both ends of the floor. Having a lineup of Stephen Curry-Brandin Podziemski-Moses Moody-Butler-Green gives the Warriors their best combination of players who can dribble, pass and shoot (all to varying degrees).
Post has brought Golden State a whole new dynamic as a floor-spacing seven-footer, but the 24-year-old still has a way to go on the defensive side of the ball. Looney, on the other hand, doesn't give Kerr enough spacing when Green and Butler are also on the floor.
As the Warriors look to desperately chase wins over the final 27 games, it's inevitable that Green will continue playing big minutes at center. That's only likely to ramp up even more once Kuminga returns from injury, with the potential that the 22-year-old even enters the starting lineup once he reintegrates and gets off a minutes restriction.
Having Green log heavy minutes at center does risk wearing out the 4x All-Star though, particularly given he's just coming off injury where he played only three total minutes across an 11-game stretch in January.
Asking Green to battle constantly on the interior against the league's best bigs likely enhances the possibility of injury. Needless to say any significant absence for the former Defensive Player of the Year would be terrible for Golden State and significantly impact their hopes of making the playoffs.
At the same time, not starting your best lineup or at least utilizing it for large periods also carries risk, particularly when the Warriors are in such a perilous situation record-wise. It's going to be a balancing act for Kerr to ensure his team makes the playoffs, while also having his best players -- including Green -- at a healthy enough point where they can actually make noise once there.