Warriors Announce Starting Lineup with Depleted Roster vs. Blazers

The Golden State Warriors are the latest NBA team to treat a preseason back-to-back as an opportunity to rest almost every rotation player.

That's why their starting lineup is Brandon Williams, Will Richard, Malevy Leons, Dalen Terry and Charles Bassey against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Yaxel Lendeborg, Al Horford, Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Georges Niang and Gary Payton II didn't even travel to Portland.

But that doesn't mean this is a meaningless game.

Several Warriors battling for rotation roles will be looking to show out at Moda Center.

Brandon Williams, It's Your Time to Shine

Williams' contract is totally non-guaranteed until opening night, which means he's theoretically a candidate to be cut if he doesn't perform well in preseason.

He's probably done enough to make the roster with his two preseason performances alone. He's averaged 10.5 points, and his speed has showed up in positive ways all over the court.

But on the downside, he had five turnovers last game.

Anyway, Williams will have the ball in hands a lot on Wednesday. He can leave no doubt about his roster status with a big game.

Bassey vs. Ike Battle Continues

Charles Bassey has a partially guaranteed standard contract and Graham Ike has a two-way contract, which puts Bassey ahead on the pecking order by contract status alone.

But Bassey is a sixth-year NBA journeyman who has played in just 126 games, mostly as a deep reserve. It's safe to say he'll have to earn every minute he gets, which means he needs to perform well in preseason to a) stay ahead of Ike and b) convince Steve Kerr to give him minutes instead of relying on more small-ball lineups.

Against the Lakers on Tuesday, Bassey looked more comfortable than Ike (as I wrote here), particularly on the defensive end.

We'll see which center shines most against the Blazers.

Richard Should Get More Scoring Opportunities

Will Richard has scored just seven points in two preseason games. It feels like he's often lost in the offensive shuffle, essentially standing in the corner to space the floor for other players to attack.

On Wednesday, Richard will have a chance to show off his on-ball ability.

In a November game against the Kings last year, Richard had 30 points. He has more offensive game than she often shows.

Wednesday is a great opportunity for him to find an offensive rhythm that he can carry over to other games when all the Warriors' rotation players are playing.

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