How the Warriors can fill Draymond Green's void during indefinite suspension – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Like the unknown length of Draymond Green's indefinite suspension – which the NBA handed down on Wednesday, a day after he was ejected for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face – there are countless questions about what this latest incident means Green and the Warriors means. both in the present and in the future.

In pure basketball style, the top priority is who will replace Green in the Warriors' starting lineup. So here are the four different starting lineups coach Steve Kerr has used in the eight games Green has missed so far this season.

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The Warriors' starting lineups in the eight games Draymond Green missed this season

CP3-Steph-Wiggins-Klay-Looney 5x
Steph-Klay-Wiggins-Saric-Looney 1x
CP3-Klay-Wiggins-Kuminga-Saric 1x (Curry is out due to injury)
Steph-Klay-Moody-Wiggins-Looney 1x

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) December 14, 2023

The starting lineup of Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney was by far the most successful of the four lineups, posting a net rating of 15.7 – 125.5 on offense and 109 over 85 minutes in 10 games. 8 on defense.

Paul started the first four games of Green's most recent five-game suspension for his chokehold on 7-footer Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 14. The 38-year-old point guard averaged 12.0 points, 9.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and shot 50.0 percent from the field and 57.9 percent on 4.8 3-pointers. Point attempts per game. But the Warriors also went 1-3 in that span.

Paul was a plus-12 with 15 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and two steals in Golden State's only win. Then two nights later he was minus-18 in just over 16 minutes before being sent off for his recent altercation with Scott Foster.

Moses Moody replaced Paul in the starting lineup for the final game of Green's suspension, a six-point NBA in-season tournament win over the struggling San Antonio Spurs. Moody was minus-6 in 17 minutes, but scored nine points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting and added four rebounds. Paul gave the Warriors 10 assists off the bench and was a plus-16.

However, Jonathan Kuminga appears to be the most obvious candidate to fill Green's spot this time around as he faces the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. Kuminga wasn't supposed to be in the rotation when the Warriors beat the Clippers on November 30th. The 21-year-old then scored 17 points in the final 23 minutes in a six-point win. Something clicked in him.

Kuminga provides the power the Warriors need, averaging 15.2 points on 58.8 percent shooting from the field and 47.1 percent on threes along with 5.4 rebounds over 22.6 minutes per game over the last five contests. He's the Warriors' outlier, as the former No. 7 overall draft pick is the ultra-athlete on a team whose core is on the other side of the 30.

Placing Kuminga in the starting XI also has its own domino effect. If he's a beginner, Looney probably isn't. The two have played together for 81 minutes in 18 games this season and have a net rating of minus-7.9 due to a low offensive rating of 99.4 and a defensive rating of 107.9. However, in 21 games (274 minutes), Kuminga and Dario Saric have a combined net rating of 7.6, thanks to an offensive rating of 118.4 that offsets a defensive rating of 110.8.

Saric was a team-best plus-21 on Tuesday night in Phoenix as he scored 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Sure, the 6-foot-3 stretch big has his defensive limitations, but he's also scored in double figures in three straight games, 11 of the Warriors' last 13 and 14 times overall this season. Saric's 10.9 points per game are his highest since his second NBA season (2017–18) and his field goal percentage of 46.0 is the second-best of his career.

The Warriors have also lost all four games in which Saric has started this season.

Moody will continue to be an important part of the Warriors' rotation, and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis should certainly see a larger role. Jackson-Davis' seven minutes of play in the fourth quarter on Tuesday were his longest playing time in an NBA game in three weeks.

Without Green, the Warriors need both frontcourt athleticism and ball control. Kuminga checks the athleticism box. Paul checks the ball handling box. But so is rookie guard Brandin Podziemski, who also brings the fearlessness the Warriors will miss in Green's absence. Podziemski and Kuminga combined have a net rating of 15.5 in 16 games (189 minutes) behind an offensive rating of 118.4 and a defensive rating of 102.9.

But trying to get both of them into the same starting lineup would require a conversation with Thompson or Wiggins that neither might want to hear and that Kerr might not be willing to have. However, Kerr showed a renewed ability to put loyalties aside and hold on to the hot hand during the Warriors' loss in Phoenix. Thompson didn't finish for the first time under Kerr. Wiggins and Looney were on the bench the entire fourth quarter and both started the second half on the bench while Podziemski and Kuminga played.

A Paul Curry-Podziemski-Kuminga-Saric lineup played the final five minutes of the Warriors' three-point loss to the Suns and was a plus-4 as they outscored the Suns 20-16. Kuminga and Podziemski also scored the Warriors' final eight points.

“As far as egos go, egos in a team always need to be checked because it's a team sport and a team made up of individuals,” Green said Tuesday night as Thompson, Wiggins and Looney sat on the bench.

Green's ego and mental stamina are tested by his indefinite suspension. Other egos need to be controlled to fill the gaps he will leave behind and, more importantly, for a 10-13 Warriors team to get anywhere close to a path that can get them back on track.

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