The Golden State Warriors starting lineup surrounding Stephen Curry and Draymond Green has been an ongoing topic since the start of training camp, as head coach Steve Kerr has experimented with five different starting lineups in each of Golden State's preseason games.
After praising Tuesday night's starters, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, following the win against the Los Angeles Lakers, the question of who will join Curry and Green in the starting lineup on opening night still seems to remain uncertain for Kerr.
However, here is who should fill the final three positions in the starting lineup:
Shooting Guard | Andrew Wiggins | 6-foot-7, 197 pounds
Wiggins' preseason debut at shooting guard Tuesday night gave the Warriors a bigger lineup, and Kerr should continue to slot Wiggins at this position. Playing Wiggins at shooting guard will allow the Kansas product to exploit smaller guards on both ends while still being able to guard forwards on switches, enhancing the Warriors' defensive versatility in a wing-heavy league.
Though spacing could be an issue with Wiggins at shooting guard, the 2022 All-Star starter has proven to be a very capable shooter during his time with the Warriors, sporting a respectable 38.1% percentage from three-point land even when factoring in last year's slump.
Given that Kerr has called on Wiggins to "step up and be our second scorer after Steph," it makes sense to pencil in the former No.1 overall pick as a starter.
Small Forward | Jonathan Kuminga | 6-foot-8, 225 pounds
While there is certainly hesitancy from the Warriors coaching staff to establish Kuminga as a small forward partly due to his shooting, the fourth-year player has shown this preseason that he is capable of taking on the role. Kuminga has worked on his shot this summer, striping 47.6% of his shots from three-point range on 4.2 attempts per game during the preseason. This figure will regress, but the numbers and eye test suggest there's reason to give Kuminga the benefit of the doubt to be a viable floor spacer this upcoming season.
We call it art pic.twitter.com/TxwM4iy5yW
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) October 12, 2024
Center | Trayce Jackson-Davis | 6-foot-9, 245 pounds
Jackson-Davis is the team's best rim-protector, and with Green not getting any younger, it makes sense to have Jackson-Davis take on primary defensive responsibilities against opposing centers. Having Green start alongside Jackson-Davis allows the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year to excel in his role as a roamer and help defender — Green himself has stated that he's "really good next to a center."
Here is a preview of the pace and defensive versatility of the Curry, Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis five-man lineup:
Favorite sequence of yesterday's starting five. Showcased some defensive versatility with switching; Draymond helping + roaming; JK pushing the pace in transition finding Wiggs; Steph drawing a defender out to leave Wiggins wide open pic.twitter.com/5I12ccps7a
— Justin Kim (@justinkimdc) October 16, 2024
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