The Beat Is Arguing About the Future. The Injury List Owns the Present.
The outlets covering the Warriors spent opening week on Lendeborg's ceiling, Green's future and a Porzingis trade, but the injury report will decide the first six weeks, not any of those plans.
Podziemski's back has taken him out of tonight's opener at the Lakers, and much of the coverage around the club has moved on to next year and beyond. The facts support the alarm about a short-handed team and the excitement about Lendeborg, but they say much less about a Green exit or a quick Porzingis deal.
How short-handed is this opener?
ESPN's Anthony Slater and RealGM both reported that Podziemski will miss the opener at the Lakers with back soreness. NBC's Dalton Johnson wrote that the Warriors are down essentially four starters: Podziemski, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis. The injury report backs him up. Podziemski is targeting Friday against Memphis, Moody and Porzingis are not expected back before December 1, and Butler's knee points to January 2. Charles Bassey, whom Johnson had as questionable, is now out too. Curry, whom Johnson listed as probable, is expected to play on the ankle. That leaves a 38-year-old point guard leaning on Green at 36 and Al Horford at 40.
Is Lendeborg already the face?
NBC reported that Green believes rookie Yaxel Lendeborg will be the next face of the franchise, and Johnson's bold-ish predictions ask whether he can become the first Warriors Rookie of the Year since Chris Webber. So far there is one real data point: 17 points in the October 13 win over these same Lakers, matching Podziemski. With four starters gone, Lendeborg gets minutes in October that a rookie usually has to earn by January. Volume is the easy part of a Rookie of the Year case. The harder part is whether those minutes come in lineups good enough to make them count.
What about Green and Porzingis?
RealGM reported that Green plans to play next season even if it is not with Golden State, and Hoops Rumors reported that the Warriors are exploring trade avenues for Porzingis. Neither one has happened. The books explain why both stories exist: payroll sits at $219.8 million, far above the $200.4 million tax line, and Green's $27.7 million and Porzingis' $19.5 million are the third and fourth biggest salaries. A Porzingis deal is hard to price while he is out with an illness that has never been specified and has no return before December. Green, cleared and under contract, is part of this season no matter how the next one goes.
What should fans actually watch?
NBC's Monte Poole listed six objectives the Warriors must meet to get back to the playoffs. Underneath all of them is one thing to measure: how much Curry is asked to carry. He played 43 games last season. After tonight come Memphis on Friday, then Phoenix and Denver on the road by Monday, all likely without Butler, Moody or Porzingis. The arguments about the future will still be there in December. Curry's legs are what matter between now and then.
Who is out for the Warriors' season opener against the Lakers?
Brandin Podziemski (back), Charles Bassey (knee), Jimmy Butler III (knee), Moses Moody (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) are all out. Stephen Curry is expected to play through his ankle issue.
Are the Warriors trading Kristaps Porzingis?
Hoops Rumors reported that the Warriors are exploring trade avenues for him, but no deal has been made. He is out with an unspecified illness and is not expected back before December 1.
