{"id":170085,"date":"2025-12-18T18:43:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=170085"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:43:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:43:46","slug":"steve-kerr-makes-decision-warriors-starting-lineup-rotation-is-it-the-right-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/12\/18\/steve-kerr-makes-decision-warriors-starting-lineup-rotation-is-it-the-right-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Kerr Makes Decision On Warriors Starting Lineup and Rotation, Is It The Right Choice?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Kerr<\/a> has taken the blame for the Golden State Warriors’<\/a> recent lethargy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not doing my job well this year,\u201d<\/em> Kerr<\/a> told reporters recently, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Golden State<\/a> is coming off two straight losses where the Warriors led both games. The Warriors have lost eight of their last 12 games and currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference with a 13-14 record.<\/p>\n

Steve Kerr Makes Decision On Warriors Starting Lineup and Rotation, Is It The Right Choice?<\/h2>\n

The Warriors have a lot of issues. The Warriors have struggled against teams with a winning record (6-8), and while they are 5-5 against the Western Conference’s top-8 teams, the Dubs have a scoring margin deficit of nearly 40 points (-3.9 points per game). More concerning is that the Warriors are only 7-6 against teams with losing records, with three of those losses coming against Portland.<\/p>\n

Golden State is 21st in the NBA<\/a> in offensive rating (113.4) as the Warriors are only an average shooting team at best. The Warriors turn the ball over too much and don’t get to the offensive glass.<\/p>\n

Granted, injuries have played a part in the Warriors’ issues. Stephen Curry<\/a> has missed nine of the Warriors’ first 27 games, and Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> has sat out 10. Al Horford<\/a> has not played in 13 contests, and De’Anthony Melton<\/a> made his debut at the beginning of the month.<\/p>\n

Warriors Injuries<\/h4>\n

There is good news. The Warriors are relatively healthy, with Horford and Pat Spencer<\/a> (personal) being the only players on the injury report. Both players have been ruled out for tonight’s contest.\u00a0 While\u00a0 Kerr indicated that the 39-year-old center is nearing a return during his media appearance on Tuesday, Horford believes he needs more time.<\/p>\n

“Horford said he is feeling better in his rehab \u2014 but he thinks he\u2019s probably another week away from returning as he continues to deal with a sciatica issue,” The Athletic’s Nick Friedel<\/a>l tweeted today.<\/p>\n

Seth Curry<\/a> is a late addition to the Warriors’ injury list for Thursday’s game against the Suns. Curry is dealing with a thigh injury and is questionable for the contest. However, he hasn’t played in the Warriors’ last four games.<\/p>\n

After facing the Suns in Phoenix,<\/a> Golden State begins a three-game homestand against them on December 20. The Warriors then host the Magic on Monday and the Mavericks on Christmas Day. The Warriors are 7-4 and have the seventh-best scoring margin at 7.1 points per game. Additionally, the Warriors have been pretty good defensively, allowing the sixth-fewest points (113.2) and ranking fifth in defensive efficiency.<\/p>\n

Warriors Starting Lineup and Rotation<\/h3>\n

With the Warriors’ injuries and Kerr trying to find the right combination, the Warriors have already used 15 starting lineups. But Kerr said that in the future, Curry, Butler, Draymond Green,<\/a> Moses Mood<\/a>y, and Quentin Post<\/a> will be his regular starting five. That fivesome started their first game together Sunday, which ended in a 136-131 loss to Portland. Curry poured in 48 points, but the Warriors’ starters were outscored 106-101. Moreover, the Warriors’ five starters registered a cumulative -25 rating while the Blazers’ first unit was a +13.<\/p>\n

In addition to announcing the Warriors’ starting lineup, Kerr indicated Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> would return to the rotation. Kuminga, the Warriors’ most athletic player, is one of the Dubs’ best interior scorers. The 23-year-old forward has struggled this year with injuries and consistency. He has received five DNPs since mid-November and<\/p>\n

\u201cYou definitely want to see how guys respond in practice,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Kerr said on Wednesday. \u201cAnd I can tell you, JK, has been great this last week as he\u2019s been out of the rotation. He\u2019s working really hard, and I\u2019m going to reward that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Warriors Rotation<\/h4>\n

Speaking of the rotation, Friedell said that\u00a0 Kerr has been open about how tough it has been to juggle the rotation and find the right combination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tricky,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cI think we have 14, 15 guys who I feel very comfortable putting on the floor, but I also only feel comfortable playing 11 at the most each night, really 10, and so no matter how we slice it, I\u2019m gonna come up here and you\u2019re gonna ask me about three different guys and it\u2019s fair because they can all play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden State has one of the best benches in the NBA. Thirteen Warriors have played in 17 or more games, and 15 of the 16 who have appeared in a game average at least 12 minutes a contest.<\/p>\n

Rookie Will Richard<\/a>, who has been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises in the early going, has not played the last two games. As Spencer had been seeing increased playing time. But Kerr said that Richard will get some time in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe great thing with Will is he gets it,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cI went to him last week and told him I was gonna take him out of the rotation because we\u2019re getting healthy and I want to play my vets and give everybody a look. \u00a0And he said, \u201cI got you, coach.\u201d He understands his place on the team as a rookie, and his time will come back around for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Is The Warriors’ Best Starting Lineup?<\/h3>\n

While Curry, Green, Butler, Moody, and Post have only started one game together, that fivesome has one of the worst +\/- ratings per 100 possessions on the team at -13.2 in just 15 minutes. Granted, it is too early to tell how this group will fare together over the long haul.<\/p>\n

Here is a thing to ponder. Post is a team-best +8.5 point in the 13 games he has started with Butler (+4.4) and Green (+2.2) being fourth and sixth. Moody (+1.6) and Curry (+ 0.9) also have a positive plus\/minus in games they have started. Obviously, Butler, Green, and Curry are the anchors of the Warriors. The Warriors are 7-6 in games Post has begun, though just 5-9 in the games Moody has opened.<\/p>\n

Butler\/Curry\/Green\/Moody\/ Richard<\/h3>\n

This is Kerr’s most-used starting lineup six times. The Warriors are 3-3 in those six games, and they are a +12.2 per 100 possessions in 55 minutes together. Getting to the foul line was their lone weakness.<\/p>\n

Butler\/Curry\/Green\/Kuminga\/Post<\/h3>\n

This is Kerr’s second-most-used starting lineup. The Warriors are 2-3 in the five games and +22.2 points per 100 possessions. While this is arguably the Dubs’ best offensive starting units, they struggle mightily on the glass on both ends.<\/p>\n

Butler\/ Curry\/Green\/ Kuminga\/ Brandon Podziemski<\/h3>\n

This is the Warriors’ most successful starting lineup in terms of wins and losses at 3-1. This lineup has played the most minutes of any five-man unit and is a +12.4. While this unit is one of the Warriors’ top 3-point lineups, they struggle on the glass, with turnovers, and with fouling.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Robert Edwards,\u00a0<\/a> Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Kerr has taken the blame for the Golden State Warriors’ recent lethargy. \u201cI\u2019m not doing my job well this year,\u201d Kerr told reporters recently, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater. Golden State is coming off two straight losses where the Warriors led both games. The Warriors have lost eight of their last 12 games and currently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":170236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,2,25,62],"tags":[409,4297,48,528],"class_list":["post-170085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-featured","category-warriors","category-nba","tag-draymond-green","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-stephen-curry","tag-steve-kerr"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170085"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170241,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170085\/revisions\/170241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}