After a tumultuous offseason centered around Jonathan Kuminga, the Golden State Warriors looked unfazed in their NBA preseason opener, cruising past the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, as they prepare to face Portland, the question remains whether the Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green will hit the court again.
For their first preseason game against the Lakers, head coach Steve Kerr gave Curry, Green, and Butler around 15 minutes each. Kerr confirmed all three, along with veteran Al Horford, will play against the Blazers tonight.
“Warriors resumed preseason practice today at Chase Center ahead of their preseason matchup Wednesday with the Portland Trail Blazers. Speaking afterward, head coach Steve Kerr says Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Al Horford will play,” Warriors reporter Sam Gordon tweeted after Tuesday’s practice.
In the opener, Curry led the way with 14 points, hitting three of his five three-pointers, and added a rebound and two assists. Butler contributed nine points, four boards, and two assists, while Green added two points, three rebounds, and five assists. Moses Moody stole the show as the game’s top scorer with 19 points.
Kerr plans to increase veterans’ minutes
While teams like the Lakers are opting to rest their top stars, such as LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Steve Kerr plans to take the opposite approach with the Warriors.
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The coach confirmed he plans to gradually increase the playing time of his veteran stars in each preseason matchup. “We usually ramp [the veterans] up a little bit each game, so I would imagine it’ll be a little bit more than the other night, but I’ll wait to see what Rick says,” Kerr explained.
Kerr followed a similar strategy last preseason, slowly increasing Curry’s minutes until he played nearly the entire final game. This approach is designed to give Golden State’s veterans—including newcomer Al Horford—game action and rhythm heading into the regular season.
