Steve Kerr is leaning toward a starting five of Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Yaxel Lendeborg alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but he has not made it official with the Golden State Warriors one week from their opening day showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers.
That is the news because the Warriors still have three starting spots to sort through, and Kerr had already said Curry and Green were locked in when the team arrived in Hawaii for training camp. Brandin Podziemski makes that lean more interesting than a normal preseason guess. He just signed a five-year, $110 million extension and has had a strong camp, so the possibility of him opening the season in the first five carries real weight.
Kerr's read also reflects how little certainty he has at center. Kristaps Porziņģis has not made it onto the practice court, and Al Horford does not play back-to-backs, which narrows the options and makes Green the cleanest answer in the middle. Charles Bassey started in Green's absence during Tuesday's preseason win over the Lakers, but that was a patch, not a declaration, and it showed how quickly the look can change from one game to the next.
The friction is simple: Kerr is leaning one way, not committing. The Warriors have one more preseason game on Friday to settle the lineup before they open on Wednesday, October 21, and the question now is whether the coach uses that last tune-up to confirm the five he has in mind or keeps the door open until the final moment.
