Preview: Horford will sit against Griz, to play tomorrow against Clippers

As expected, Warriors early season grind is forcing some adjustments

It’s a long season, but for the Golden State Warriors, it’s already time to manage player load through the first weeks of the season. As they’ve telegraphed, Golden State is going to adhere to their load management of Al Horford by having him sit one out of any two back-to-back games.

Why tonight? From coach Steve Kerr’s quote, it sounds like the decision was a bit tougher for this back-to-back than it was when one of the teams was the Denver Nuggets.

“We always take [the matchups] into consideration. Against Portland [or Denver], it was always a pretty easy choice, dealing with [Nikola] Jokic,” Kerr told reporters. “I would say this one is a much more difficult decision because Memphis, you know, Jaren Jackson Jr. is obviously a great player. But we opted to play him against the Clippers, [as Ivica] Zubac has given us trouble. It’s a really big team, so that’s the way we’ll go with this one.”

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Memphis Grizzlies (2-1) at Golden State Warriors (2-1)

WHEN: Monday, October 27, 2025; 7pm (ish)

WATCH: NBCSBA

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First loss highlights some of the louder roster concerns

Most NBA rosters require a mix of youth and veteran players, but no team has exemplified this in recent memory quite as well as this version of the Warriors. With an aging veteran core that has been mostly reduced to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green - plus recent acquisitions Jimmy Butler and Al Horford - the Warriors are heavily top-loaded. With so little salary room left to play with, Golden State is heavily reliant younger and cheaper players to fill out the edges.

So far, the top guys have been great. Certainly good enough to wade deep into the playoffs… if this team can stay healthy. The Warriors have seen these regular season grind’s impacts on a team, and may be a bit more hyper-aware of these issues after Curry’s hamstring injury that cropped up in last year’s playoffs after logging heavy minutes.

So, the problem isn’t that Horford won’t play pack-to-backs, but more so that with so much fluidity in the roster, it’s more important (while also being more difficult) for role players to find their rhythm.

Looking at the big men first, it was not a great first showing without Horford. In Portland, Quintin Post managed a mere five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes, while Trayce Jackson-Davis posted six points and four rebounds in around 17 minutes. Of course, this isn’t about counting stats, but we have to start somewhere. I mean… counting stats are nice too.

If neither of the young bigs work out, undersized but super talented, Draymond Green will be sitting right there, drawing Kerr’s eye inexorably. The Warriors see Horford as their big off-season acquisition - and rightly so - but with so little proven depth behind him, there’s a thin veneer of a barrier to leaning into that familiar safety of Green at center.

The Warriors have spoken a ton about the identified need of providing more rest to their veterans, but they also know that you’ll have to make some quick flexible decisions on players in the heat of a contested game. It’s still extremely early in the season, but if the coaching staff is going to be taking notes all season, and failure to launch in these early opportunities could easily preclude future opportunities.

Brandin Podziemski is another player that everyone is keeping their eyes on. After impressing throughout training camp, his first few games have been a little lackluster.

Through three contests, the 22-year-old is averaging 8.7 points per game, with a 36 percent field-goal percentage after scoring seven and 11 points in the Warriors’ first two games, respectively…

It’s a small sample size, but the missed shots aren’t quite the norm for someone who shot near 45 percent from the field in two consecutive seasons to start his NBA career. But the slow start does come on the heels of Podziemski’s shooting slump in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

Looking closer will only become important later, if this stretch of bad shooting continues on… well hopefully it won’t. Because the Warriors need these young guys to take some weight of the old knees of the veteran core. There’s a certain magic that comes with basketball. Why a shot bounces in or rims out is anyone’s guess, and the margin for error at this level is insane. If I shot 45% from the floor over the past few years, I know that I’d be pretty vocal if someone wanted to talk to me about the last three games. These streaks happen.

So now Golden State is coming into the first game of a back-to-back fresh off a fairly resounding defeat in Portland. It’s definitely far from panic time, but there’s a few areas to watch. If Golden State can’t shore up the edges via their youth movement, it will add even more pressure to the capeable (but also old) shoulders at the center of the team huddles.

Prediction

This should be a fun game featuring some nice high level guard play. In the end though, the Warriors are just better. Dubs win to end loss streak at one.