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Draymond Green may have returned to the Golden State Warriors' active roster on Friday night in their 107-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it wasn't in his usual role. Returning from a two-game absence due to a calf injury, Green came off the bench — with the Warriors prioritizing Jonathan Kuminga after coming off a career-high 33-point night in their shorthanded win over the Houston Rockets last night.
One would think that the Warriors are simply bringing Green along slowly after he sustained a potentially serious calf injury. But it looks as though head coach Steve Kerr is going to stick with this current setup for a bit as they look to bring the best out of Kuminga on more consistent basis.
“I wanna look at it. We’re trying to maximize Jonathan. Playing him with Wiggs. Playing Loon to start with that group means that Draymond doesn't have to guard the opposing center right from the get-go, which I think is important. We can close with Draymond at the five. In theory, I like what it looks like. But we have to play better. We have to make better decisions,” Kerr said in his postgame presser, via 95.7 The Game on X (formerly Twitter).
Kerr is nothing if not a tinkerer, so it's no surprise that he is once again toying with the Warriors' lineups in search of the best possible combination. But one would think that Green will have to assume his starting spot really soon, as he is their best defender and playmaker.
However, Kerr will have to decide who to move to the bench, and on Friday night, it was Green he decided to reduce the role of. Perhaps moving back to the Warriors' opening night setup, with Green and a non-shooting big in the frontcourt and Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins on the wing, could be the move.
Warriors have tough lineup decisions awaiting them
Jonathan Kuminga and the other Warriors youngsters have infamously usually been on the short end of the Steve Kerr lineup decisions stick. But after Kuminga's 33-point night, the Warriors decided to give him the platform for a potential repeat performance on the second night of a back-to-back.
Nevertheless, with Andrew Wiggins having to exit their loss against the Timberwolves early, Green could be back in the starting lineup as soon as Sunday night in a rematch against Minnesota — especially with Wiggins dealing with what Kerr called a painful ankle injury.
