Right when it felt the Warriors were truly back after the win over the Rockets, now they have a new concern. Or is it a strategic decision? Last game, the Dubs faced the H-Town without their core, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry. The duo, dealing with nagging injuries, luckily made progress and made themselves available for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team also announced the starting 5 for the game and it raises a huge concern.

Where is Draymond Green?

The team has put Stephen Curry back in the mix, who missed two of the last four games with a knee injury, while Green is nowhere to be seen. The star power forward suffered a calf tightness and missed the last two games. It remained an alarming situation in the Bay Area, as Green highlighted that he had the same symptoms of calf injury from 2022 that kept him out of action for three months. However, the MRI came out clean, and the team cleared the star to play for the Friday night action. But Kerr hasn’t put him on the starting lineup, leaving the fans clueless.

Well, there’s nothing to be clueless about. The team has apparently put the 4x NBA Champ on a minutes restriction and made him come off the bench on account of injury management. Guess what? Steve Kerr sent him in around the 6:30-minute mark in the first quarter, replacing Stephen Curry. So, we might see a rotational strategy between the vets. Considering the fact that the team managed to defeat the second-seeded Rockets without them, Kerr might gamble. Nevertheless, the fans are upset. Let’s take a look at that.

Draymond Green’s absence stirred Dub Nation

Right after the team announced the starting lineup for the game, a huge section of fans had one doubt. And it was regarding Brandin Podziemski. To sum up the majority of fans’ opinion, a fan perfectly questioned, maybe to Kerr, writing, “Refused to start Draymond and JK together but let POdz starts???” 

Even though Podz has had a tough run this season, especially with his shooting, Steve Kerr really seemed to be impressed by him. The coach seriously looks something beyond his offensive abilities, as he recently said, “Podz is a hell of a player, but he needs to — and I’ve told him this — be a smart player. He’s one of our guys who’s capable of making really good decisions.” So, it’s something inevitable.

Another fan caught the right thread and predicted that Green would come off the bench, writing, “dray off the bench?“. At the same time, a fan added a positive twist to it, writing, “Draymond about to embrace the Iggy role.” Andre Iguodala, the former Finals MVP, picked up the veteran mentor role coming off the bench, during the late end of his career. Especially during the 2022 championship run, Iggy played a crucial role off the bench. While it’s too early for Green to embrace that role, it’s definitely an option for the Dubs.

On than that, fans only had suggestions for the legendary coach. A fan wrote, “Play 3 forward together !!!!!!” The Dubs always have had the criticism of deploying a small lineup for their games. At times, the team has even sent Green for the starting center role. This may be an outcry to fix it.

Another fan made a pleading request to deploy Moses Moody in the starting lineup, writing, “Why can’t we try starting Moody ? Like just once ?” So far in 21 games, Kerr has started the game with Mo 4 times. While it’s very little time to judge someone’s ability, the fast-paced league doesn’t have time to wait. What do you make of Steve Kerr’s decision? Let us know in the comments.