Warriors' Projected Starting Lineup, Rotation with Steph, Dray Out vs. Clips

The Golden State Warriors will be without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green against the Clippers on Sunday, as the two veteran stars are resting to avoid having to play three games in four days.

The Warriors already played one game without Curry and Green, losing to the Suns 131-122. Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford were out for that game, but both will be active Sunday.

Since that Suns game, the Warriors (3-3) have won three in a row, and some rotation pros and cons have become more clear.

Below is what I would do with the starting lineup and rotation.

Starting Lineup (First 5 Mins of 1st, 3rd Qs)

PG: Brandon Williams
SG: Brandin Podziemski
SF: Gui Santos
PF: Yaxel Lendeborg
C: Charles Bassey

Against the Suns, the Warriors started Will Richard at shooting guard and Graham Ike at center. There's little doubt that Podz will replace Richard, but the question is who will start at the 5?

I expect Steve Kerr to give Bassey the starting nod.

At this very early stage of the season, plus/minus can't be used as the end-all, be-all for lineup decisions. Still, it is at least noteworthy that the net ratings for the three are plus-40.3 for Bassey, minus 9.4 for Horford and minus-29.2 for Ike, per Cleaning the Glass.

As for the possibility of playing small with Lendeborg at center, note that the Warriors have a 162.5 defensive rating (lowest possible percentile) when Green, Bassey, Horford and Ike are off the floor.

Next 4 Mins of 1st and 3rd Qs

Lineup: Melton, Richard, Podz, Niang, Horford

The Warriors sub out four of their five starters to get De'Anthony Melton, Richard, Georges Niang and Horford on the floor.

With Williams off the floor, this lineup doesn't have a traditional point guard, but the hope is it would make up for that with ball movement and three-point shooting.

Last 3 Mins of 1st and 3rd Qs

Lineup: Williams, Richard, Santos, Lendeborg, Ike

This lineup started against the Suns and has put up a plus-25.0 net rating.

First 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs

Lineup: Melton, Payton, Podz, Lendeborg, Horford

Similar to the mid-first quarter lineup, the Warriors will go without a traditional point guard again. But the positive is a lineup with Melton, Payton and Podz should be great defensively.

Next 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs

Lineup: Melton, Richard, Niang, Santos, Bassey

For floor-spacing purposes, the Warriors need to have a lot of shooting around Bassey. So it makes sense to have him play with Niang (and to avoid having him play with Payton).

Closing Lineup (Last 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs)

Lineup: Williams, Podz, Santos, Lendeborg, Horford

The Bassey-Horford starting decision wasn't easy because they have both thrived playing with Williams, Podz, Santos and Lendeborg.

- Williams, Podz, Santos, Lendeborg, Bassey net rating:
- Williams, Podz, Santos, Lendeborg, Horford net rating:

It seems there's no wrong answer here, but I'd lean toward closing with the experienced Horford.

Minutes Distribution

Podz: 34
Lendeborg: 32
Santos: 32
Williams: 24
Melton: 24
Horford: 24
Richard: 22
Bassey: 18
Niang: 16
Payton: 8
Ike: 6

Final Thoughts

Without Curry, the Warriors will need to lean on playing guys who can either space the floor or score in volume. That's why I'd lean toward having Payton play a smaller role Sunday.

The Dubs could look to get LJ Cryer some minutes, but the reason I don't have him checking in is Podz, Melton and Richard have been playing well. There's no reason to take any minutes from them.

Williams hasn't been efficient offensively, but he's due for a big game like he had against the Suns (20 points and five assists in 24 minutes).

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