The Golden State Warriors lost, 103-106, to the LA Clippers on Friday in a close but untidy match-up at the Chase Center.
Al Horford played twenty minutes, putting up 10 points and 2 assists, shooting 50% from the field. And it looks like, outside of increasing his board presence (since he had no rebounds in this game) and increasing three-point attempts, this is how his time with the Warriors will look this year.
Draymond Green had nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals as well. He shot 80% from the field and even made a three-point shot. But as expected, the Warriors veteran played limited minutes (22).
Coach Kerr explained how these two players are in a unique position, and a lot of their planning revolves around trying to fit them into the lineups. Steve Kerr showed two different faces of the same coin that runs through the core of the 2025-26 Warriors while talking to the media before and after the game. For the Warriors’ head coach, the main issue is the age of the players and how to manage their minutes.
“Well, the big question for us is how we want to start? Do we wanna start big with Al (Horford)? Or we wanna start small with Draymond at the five, like how we finished last year with BP and Steph in the back court. There are pluses and minuses.” Kerr explained.
He further spoke about how there’s a huge issue with Horford’s ideal load management and role in the team.
“The hard part with starting out at his age is we’re gonna wanna limit his minutes, probably play him twenty minutes a night. So it’s hard to start a guy if he’s only playing twenty and finishes the game. If he starts and finishes, he’s sitting out almost the entire middle part of the game, which is very awkward. So we have to factor that in,” The 60-year-old head coach added.
Speaking to the media before the preseason game against the LA Clippers, Kerr made it clear that there’s no clarity on the starting lineup situation due to other players as well.
“We have to factor Draymond. I don’t want him guarding seven-footers for 82 games. So we might end up with multiple starting lineups. We haven’t decided yet.” Kerr said.
The Warriors had a chance to tie the game with ten seconds to go, but they missed two three-pointers despite getting the offensive rebound. Kerr again spoke to the media after the game. This time, it was the youthful nature of the mistakes that caught his attention.
“Some of it is just careless play and lack of fundamentals. One hand passes off the dribble when two hands are available. If you have two hands on the pass on the ball and the guy cuts as you’re passing, you can pull it back. But with one hand, you throw it out of bounds. And we had several of those. So, fundamental stuff has to improve.” Kerr noted.
However, he also believes that the solution is already within them. The 36-year-old small forward Jimmy Butler will offset a lot of their mistakes and bring discipline to the offense.
“But I think Jimmy (Butler) solves a lot of that. You remember last year, I think we were 25-26 without him. And turning over frequently, but after we got him, the game made a lot more sense. There was more control to the game, we cut our turnovers back, and we started winning. So, no coincidence.” Kerr said.
The Warriors have the recipe required for a deep run. They need to manage how to use their veterans’ experience as a strength despite the drawbacks of having a roster stacked with aging players. Hence, they’ll need some careful planning to help their roster stay intact as they take on this grueling challenge.
