What we learned from the Warriors’ preseason

The Warriors will be much more versatile than in years past

As Curry said, injuries have somewhat dampened the anticipation for the Warriors this regular season. But that doesn’t change the fact that Golden State enters this season with more options rotationally than it’s had in quite a while.

With the addition of Al Horford, the Warriors finally have a true stretch-five center who can play alongside Draymond Green. With the option to play more traditionally with Green and Horford in the backcourt, the Warriors won’t have to overexert Green at the small-ball five like they did last season. Before the game, Kerr talked about where Golden State is in terms of their rotation and lineups.

“The big question for us is how we want to start. Do we want to start big with Al? 
Or do we want to start small with Draymond at the five?” Kerr said.

He referenced the starting lineup of Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody next to the star trio core that helped lead the Warriors to the postseason as a potential option. But Kerr also talked about the nuance of managing Horford’s minutes due to his advanced age.

“It’s hard to start a guy if he’s only playing 20 [minutes] and finish the game. If he starts and finishes, he’s sitting almost the entire middle part of the game, which is very awkward. So you have to factor that in; we have to factor in Draymond. I don’t want him guarding seven-footers for 82 games. So we might end up with, you know, multiple starting lineups. We haven’t decided.”

It’s looking like they’ll oscillate between those two kinds of lineups throughout the season, depending on the matchup. But with Horford and the wing depth they’ve accumulated, Golden State has way more tools at its disposal than maybe since the 2022 championship team.

Rookie Will Richard is rising

Cannot emphasize enough how different preseason basketball is from regular-season basketball. As Kerr and Curry have explained, teams do not game-plan these games. There’s no scouting, and the players are essentially freestyling it to a certain degree.

But if there are a few things that translate from half-baked, borderline pointless games, it’s IQ, hustle, and defensive principles. And second-round rookie Will Richard has displayed those three things and a little bit more here in the preseason.

Richard finishes the preseason with a respectable 8.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 1.4 spg on 36.8% shooting and 32.0% from beyond the arc. Along with his hustle and activity on defense, he’s looked fluid in the Warriors’ offense. He’s been good cutting off-ball as well as a willing passer, finding the open man in motion.

Kerr expressed his confidence in Richard all preseason long and believes he’ll be ready when his number is called this season. He was transparent that the rookie is “on the outside looking in” rotation-wise, barring injuries.

“Will can really play. It’s exciting. You can see it when he’s out there, and the game makes sense. He’s in the right spot. 
The ball moves, he’s not afraid to shoot it. He’s a good defensively. I think Will is going to be in the league for a long time,” Kerr said. High praise from a man who’s done literally everything in the NBA.

We’ll see how Richard fares in his rookie campaign, but this preseason has shown the Warriors can throw him out there in spot minutes and feel comfortable he won’t be a negative.