Latest Porzingis News Means Warriors Should Turn to This Effective Lineup

Kristaps Porzingis (illness) is expected to miss the Golden State Warriors' next two games.

ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote on X that Porzingis is not traveling with the team for its two-game road trip in New Orleans and Memphis.

Slater added that Draymond Green is making the trip, which suggests he'll be available after missing Sunday's game with back soreness.

Despite being severely short-handed, the Warriors have won three of their last six games, including upset victories over the Suns and Nuggets.

In that span, the same three players have appeared in four of their top five lineups via plus/minus.

The Warriors need to prioritize playing Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Al Horford together.

Warriors Getting Great Results from Podz-Santos-Horford Lineups

In the last six games, lineups with Podz, Santos and Horford are a team-high plus-25, per NBA.com.

What stands out most about these lineups is an elite assist-to-turnover ratio.

On the season, the Warriors are averaging 29.1 assists and 15.6 turnovers per game. In the last six games, the Podz, Santos and Horford lineups have 56 assists and just 16 turnovers.

How they are doing it is not rocket science.

When they have an open shot, they take it. Otherwise, they look to move the ball unless the shot clock is running down. If so, Podz and Santos can make a one-on-one move. No one is confusing them for isolation star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but it isn't a total cause if they have to score with an iso move every once in a while.

Spencer, Green Have Been Struggling

Over the last six games, Pat Spencer and Green have been in the Warriors' three worst five-man lineups.

Golden State doesn't have enough healthy players to sit Spencer outright, but Steve Kerr should play him less, which might mean coming off the bench after starting the last six games.

Green has yet to come off the bench this season, and though I've argued that the time has come for Kerr to make that move, he should be more concerned with finding the right combinations.

Golden State's Best Recent 5-Man Lineup Is Surprising

If you've read to this point, you'll know Podz, Santos and Horford are in Golden State's best five-man lineup over the last six games (minimum of six minutes played). But surprisingly, De'Anthony Melton is not one of the two other players.

The other two are Gary Payton II and Moses Moody.

This five-man lineup has played just eight minutes together in the last six games, but it's a plus-12 with a 66.7 percent field-goal percentage, seven assists and no turnovers in that small sample size.

In fairness to Melton, he leads the team in plus-minus overall at plus-22 over the last half-dozen games.

My takeaway from the Warriors' recent lineup data is they should be playing GPII more.

In the last six games, Spencer has played 168 minutes and is a minus-43. Meanwhile, GPII has played 113 minutes and is a plus-13.

The Warriors (30-27) are depleted to the point they have no margin for error, even against bottom-feeders like the Pelicans (16-42) and Grizzlies (21-34).

The recent lineup data suggests they should do two things: 1) play Podz, Santos and Horford together more and 2) play GPII more than Spencer. If they do these two things, they'll be positioned for more success.