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Warriors Announce First Starting Lineup After Butler's Injury
Stephen Curry Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Jimmy Butler has started 38 of the Warriors' 44 games this season, but he won't start another after tearing his ACL on Monday.

On Tuesday, Steve Kerr chose Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Quinten Post as Golden State's first five against the Toronto Raptors.

It's the 19th different starting lineup for the Warriors this season.

This lineup has played just 16 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass. In that very small sample size, it has a plus-66.0 net rating.

Support Scoring for Curry Will Be Key for Rest of Season

The Warriors are the only team in the NBA that has just two players averaging over 12.3 points per game. And now one of those two players is out for the season.

To have any chance to win games, the Warriors need several players to consistently score more.

The formula was revealed on Monday.

Podz had a game-high 24 points, while Buddy Hield (16), Post (15), Moses Moody (13) and Al Horford (10) also scored in double figures. After Butler's injury, the Warriors pulled away for a 135-112 win over the Heat.

Aside from Butler, Warriors Get Good News on Injury Report

Green (ankle), Will Richard (glute) and Gui Santos (ankle) were on the injury report earlier Tuesday, but they are all available to play.

Also, De'Anthony Melton is active after having Monday off to manage the ACL injury he suffered last year.

The Warriors will be without Al Horford as part of the plan to manage his health. And Seth Curry continues to be out with sciatica.

But otherwise, the Warriors are healthy for Tuesday's game.


This article first appeared on Golden State Warriors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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