3 Warriors Rotation Takeaways from Preseason Loss to Clippers

Just like any team in preseason, the Golden State Warriors didn't treat their game against the Clippers like it had any stakes.

But Steve Kerr's first-quarter playing-time decisions seemingly revealed how the rotation would look if their regular-season opener was in a day or two.

Of course, the Warriors have five more preseason games before starting the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Lakers.

Nothing is set in stone, but I have three takeaways about the rotation hierarchy nonetheless. But first, let's go over exactly what the first-quarter rotation looked like.

First-Quarter Substitutions

Here were the Warriors' lineups for the first quarter:

Starters: Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Draymond Green, Al Horford

There's no major surprise here. De'Anthony Melton could push for Podz's starting shooting guard spot, and Gui Santos could push for Lendeborg's starting small forward spot.

Regardless of who starts and who sits, the starters, Melton and Santos are the Warriors' seven best currently healthy players. They will all play a lot.

First sub: Melton for Podz (8:46 left)

Two possible reasons Podz got such a quick hook. First, Kerr wants to see how Curry looks with each shooting guard. Second, as you'll see below, Podz checks back in for Curry about three-and-a-half minutes later to give the Warriors more scoring pop on the second unit.

Second sub: Bassey for Horford; Santos for Lendeborg (7:52 left)

Kerr didn't try any small-ball lineups in the first quarter, instead going with either Charles Bassey or Horford at center for all 12 minutes.

Third sub: Niang for Green (7:10 left)

At the moment, Georges Niang is Green's backup at power forward.

Fourth sub: Podz for Curry (5:14 left)

To this point, the Warriors have played nine players. It's interesting that Kerr would go back to Podz before going to Williams, leaving the Dubs without a true point guard on the floor for about one minute and 20 seconds.

Fifth sub: Williams for Melton; Lendeborg for Santos; Horford for Bassey (3:54 left)

Williams is the 10th and final Warrior to check in for the first quarter.

Sixth sub: Green for Niang (2:42 left)

Green comes back in to close the first quarter with Williams, Podz, Lendeborg and Horford.

Takeaways

Lendeborg and Santos Are Competing Against Each Other for Small Forward Minutes

In the first quarter, Lendeborg and Santos never played together, as one always checked in for the other. In the first half, they spent just 70 seconds sharing the floor.

Lendeborg is probably best-suited to play power forward. But Kerr chose to give Green and Niang most of the power forward minutes in the first half, which essentially forced Lendeborg into minutes at the 3.

Lendeborg and Santos did start the second half playing together, and surely Kerr will experiment more with that.

But for now, it appears Kerr wants Lendeborg at small forward, for better or worse.

Niang, Bassey and Williams Have Inside Track to Big Roles

Niang is a great three-point shooter with major defensive concerns. Kerr has to decide what he values more: having more shooting on the floor or avoiding playing a potential defensive liability.

To this point in the offseason, Kerr is pretty clearly saying he values Niang's strengths (shooting and offensive IQ) enough to put up with his weaknesses.

Assuming Bassey can hold off Graham Ike and the Dubs don't revert back to long stretches playing small ball, Bassey will be the backup center while Kristaps Porzingis is out. Bassey could get a lot of playing time this year while filling in for Porzingis and Horford.

Williams getting first-quarter playing time makes him the clear leader of the backup point guard race. The fact that he showed out with 11 points and three assists makes it even more likely that he starts the season playing most of the non-Curry minutes.

Payton and Richard Are Deeper Reserves

Gary Payton II didn't check in until 3:10 to go in the second quarter. It makes me wonder if he'd get any playing time if the regular season started today.

Will Richard checked in for the beginning of the second quarter and played for about seven minutes before halftime. This doesn't necessarily mean he's ahead of Payton on the depth chart, as Kerr might simply be giving Richard more run because a younger player will benefit more from it during the preseason.

But the fact that Richard didn't play in the first quarter all but confirms he's behind Melton and Williams on the reserve guard depth chart.

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