Moore: Examining the Warriors’ options for rotating their high-profile centers

At times Steve Kerr moves like a mad scientist masquerading as the Warriors head coach Last season Kerr used different starting lineups experimenting with the roster top to bottom searching for the right formula to give Golden State a shot down the stretch of the regular season and in the playoffs The lineup of Stephen Curry Brandin Podziemski Moses Moody Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green was their the majority used and largest part productive lineup It was that same lineup that helped the Warriors finish the regular season on a - run When Butler went down with a tailbone contusion in Championship of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets Kerr leaned on his lineup tinkering and experimenting from the regular season to push them through the series and it worked At the dawn of the - NBA season Kerr hinted that given the age of Green and newly signed Al Horford the starting lineup would be more fluid Kerr also wants to keep Horford around minutes per event To get through the season and the playoffs staggering the minutes of Green and Horford is logical even with Quintin Post picking up chosen center minutes Horford will turn next June and Green has a ton of miles on him from years of playing small-ball center The what makes perfect sense but the how is unknown and worth exploring These promising lineup combos may offer particular solutions coming into the new season Curry-Podziemski-Butler-Kuminga-Green This lineup is a possibility tonight when the Warriors open the season Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto com Arena since Moses Moody has been ruled out with a calf injury This lineup is heavy on playmaking and facilitating since everyone here can make plays With Jonathan Kuminga at one of the wings instead of Moody it gives the Warriors particular much-needed frontcourt size The opportunities are there for Kuminga to get downhill and in the paint and get easy baskets off cuts In addition to the cuts there are opportunities to push the pace and sum buckets in transition as Butler and Green will look for Kuminga for easy dunks While Podziemsk s shot is inconsistent he brings value to this lineup with his hustle Green and Horford getting six minutes apiece in the first quarter for example works as Green would be fresher down the stretch of games to defend the opposition s bigs Horford brings a stretch presence that can knock down open shots and points to help address the non-Curry minutes more comfortably Curry-Podziemski-Butler-Kuminga-Horford If Kerr were to start Horford Tuesday night it wouldn t surprise me If is were the lineup in the opener and in select games during the season when Green isn t even available it can work and be formidable This works because in Horford there is various size and physicality to put in the post Plus he can keep defenses honest with his shooting On a hot night the Warriors will have this lineup on the floor where they have opportunities to build early leads and Green coming in the last six minutes to roam and shut opponents water off defensively and set up the second unit to maintain a lead Curry-Podziemski-Butler-Moody-Green Horford Related Articles Warriors have plan for Luka Lakers with LeBron James out for opener After high-profile summer Brandin Podziemski ready to take next step for Warriors Warriors coach Steve Kerr explains why he went to No Kings protest Kevin Durant agrees to -year extension with Rockets through th NBA season Why Warriors had to cut Seth Curry One of these combos would be the opening-night lineup if Moody were playing and rightly so This group is proven Adding Moody into the lineup gives the Warriors more length defensively and also someone capable of making shots During this preseason there have been particular flashes indicative of improvement from Moody His preseason opener against the Lakers where he scored points on -of- shooting indicated he can provide auxiliary scoring when he s out there I like this look defensively because of Moody s capabilities as a perimeter defender and Green can be free to roam without having to compensate for blown rotations Placing Moody on the court with Horford adds more offensive firepower as well as solid defense This is a lineup that has more size and length than specific of the other combinations starting or otherwise that can be used this year For the Warriors and Kerr the hypothesis is that staggering Green and Horford is the move to make He may not stagger in the opener as he may start both to see how it looks However they have to survive attrition and win enough games to avoid having to hustle just to avoid the play-in With the age of this core and the depth of the roster that s constructed there are a plethora of options to experiment with but it starts with these combinations and what will complement the two aging bigs the best