The Warriors' Best Lineup Can't Take the Floor Until January
Golden State's three most effective lineups of this preseason all run through Jimmy Butler, who is out until January, leaving Steve Kerr to find a new foundation before the Blazers visit Friday.
Butler's right knee has him out until Jan. 2, Moses Moody is out until Dec. 1 with a left knee of his own, and Kristaps Porzingis remains out indefinitely with the health issue Anthony Slater first reported Sept. 28. That leaves none of the three lineups the Warriors have leaned on hardest this preseason available for Friday's finale against Portland, let alone the Lakers game that opens the regular season on Oct. 21.
Two lineups, one shared injury report
Kerr's best lineup this preseason — Curry, Butler, Green, Kuminga and Podziemski — posted a net rating of plus-16.9 over eight games and 65 minutes. The next-best group, Butler with Green, Moody, Podziemski and Post, ran plus-2.3 over 64 minutes. Butler is out until Jan. 2, and Moody until Dec. 1, so both groups are off the table for Friday's finale against Portland and the Oct. 21 opener in Los Angeles.
Two bodies, maybe, by Friday
The preseason's most-used lineup, Curry, Butler, Green, Moody and Post, logged 125 minutes over 17 games and still finished at minus-6.5 — the only one of the three in the red, and it needed both Butler and Moody healthy to get that much run. Green and Al Horford are both day-to-day with rest and share an estimated return of Oct. 16, the Blazers game itself; Porzingis remains out indefinitely with the health issue reported Sept. 28, with no new detail since.
Portland isn't whole either
Portland already beat Golden State once this preseason, 123-118 on Oct. 7, and arrives Friday on the second game of a road trip missing Shaedon Sharpe, its second-leading scorer last season at 20.8 points, to a right knee injury. Both teams finished last season near break-even — Golden State at minus-0.5, Portland at minus-0.4 — which makes Friday less a measuring stick than a search for whoever solves their own lineup problem first.
Will Jimmy Butler play against Portland or in the regular-season opener?
No. Butler is out with a right knee injury and isn't expected back until Jan. 2, well after the Oct. 21 opener in Los Angeles.
Is Kristaps Porzingis playing in the Warriors' preseason finale?
No. Porzingis remains out indefinitely with the health issue first reported Sept. 28, and no further detail on his timeline has surfaced since.
