Warriors and Heat Announce Starting Lineups for Thursday's Game

The Golden State Warriors are going with the same starting lineup they used on Monday.

The quintet is Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green.

Gui Santos normally starts at small forward, but he's out with knee tendinitis. That's why Richard is making his second consecutive start.

Richard (6'3") is listed as a guard, but his on-ball on wings has been solid this season.

The Heat will start Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. That has been their starting lineup every game this season.

Steph vs. Klay, Part 7

Curry and Klay Thompson have gone up against each other six times, with each player's team winning three times.

Their averages in those games show how motivated Curry is to play his ex-teammate:

Curry: 29.8 PPG, 6.5 APG, 4.5 RPG, 47.8 FG%, 40.8 3PT%
Thompson: 15.3 PPG, 2.2 APG, 4.0 RPG, 41.7 FG%, 44.4 3PT%

Thompson was on the Mavericks for all of those games. This will be the first time he'll play the Warriors as a member of the Heat.

The Heat have struggled defensively this season, ranking 27th in defensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass. That should bode well for the Warriors, but it's not like the Heat are completely devoid of good individual defenders.

Mitchell has a reputation for being one the best on-ball guard defenders, and both Adebayo and Antetokounmpo are typically in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.

Klay Impressed with Yaxel

After Wednesday's game against the Clippers—of which Thompson was the hero with a game-winning three in overtime—Thompson was asked about Lendeborg.

“Yeah, he’s playing great," Thompson said. "He looks like he’s a great athlete, NBA size, and I know he had a great college career, and Steve [Kerr] is a great coach. I think he’s got a great staff, and they can get the most out of guys. So, not too surprised. And he’s got a good leader, Draymond. So, I know they probably go back and forth with the MSU-Michigan rivalry, but Draymond’s a great, great leader for young players, and so is Steph, so I’m not too surprised.”

Lendeborg is averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 50.0 percent shooting and 40.0 percent from three.

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