At 40, Horford Has to Bridge the Warriors to December, Not Carry Them
With Porzingis out until December and Bassey questionable, Horford's job is to make the center spot a non-story for six weeks, not to win games by himself.
Al Horford is 40, in his 19th season, and the healthiest center the Warriors have for Wednesday's opener in Los Angeles. Last season's line says what he still does well and what he never did: space the floor, protect the ball, and leave the rebounding to others.
Why the job is his by default
Kristaps Porzingis has been listed Out since October 16 with the cause undisclosed and a return estimated for December 1. Charles Bassey did not practice Tuesday with a knee issue, and Golden State of Mind reported he is questionable for the Lakers. That leaves Horford, cleared from a rest listing on October 17 and absent from the injury report, as the center with the most experience against a Lakers team that scored 117.0 per 100 last season behind Luka Doncic's 33.5 a night. Nobody guards that alone. Horford is the one Kerr trusts to be in the right spot while Green does the rest.
What last season's line says
Forty-five games, 21.5 minutes, 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists. The averages are modest, and the shape behind them is the point. He took 4.6 threes a night and made 36.1 percent, shot 84.6 percent from the line, and turned it over 0.9 times a game on 16.3 percent usage. That is a center who pulls a defender to the arc so Curry can cut and Green can short-roll, and who almost never gives a possession away. A true shooting of 55.4 percent on a 42.6 percent field goal mark says the twos were ugly and the threes carried him. An assist rate of 17.1 percent is high for a big, which is why he fits the handoff rhythm Kerr prefers.
What he cannot be asked to do
His rebound rate was 11.1 percent, and his on-court numbers came in at 112.7 for the offense and 113.5 for the defense, a net of -0.9 that mirrors a 37-45 team. Horford at 40 does not change a glass battle. Frank Vogel, as Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area relayed, wants a Warriors defense that embraces physicality. That is a request for Green, Bassey and Gui Santos, not for a 19-year veteran whose 1.1 blocks come from position rather than lift. If his minutes drift toward 30 because nobody else is available, the Warriors are losing the argument this roster was supposed to avoid.
The verdict
Horford's contract pays $6.8 million this season and $7.2 million next, the cost of a bridge, not a pillar. The season he needs is the one he just had: about 45 games, about 21 minutes, four or five threes a night at a respectable clip, and the ball in the right hands. Do that through December 1 and Porzingis returns to a center spot that held, with Jimmy Butler's January target still within reach of a team that is close rather than buried. If Horford has to be more than that, the problem was never Horford.
Is Al Horford starting at center for the Warriors against the Lakers?
He is not on the injury report, while Porzingis is out with a December 1 estimate and Bassey is questionable after missing practice, so Horford is the most available center Kerr has for Wednesday.
How much does Al Horford make on his Warriors contract?
He is owed $6.8 million for 2026-27 and $7.2 million for 2027-28.
