Steve Kerr Gets Brutally Honest About Warriors Starting Lineup

The much-anticipated debut of the Golden State Warriors’ projected starting lineup for the 2025–26 NBA season got off to a rocky start Wednesday night, forcing head coach Steve Kerr to deliver a blunt assessment of his team’s readiness.

Despite rallying late to secure a 129–123 come-from-behind win over the Portland Trail Blazers in their second preseason game, Kerr didn’t mince words about his starters’ lackluster showing.

“I didn’t think we were ready to play,” 

Kerr said. “I don’t know that we got a good enough look at that lineup to really know. It should fit, with Al’s shooting and we have a lot of length. Moses on the ball. But they took it to us right away.”

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Warriors Starters Struggle Early

Golden State opened with a new-look lineup of Stephen Curry, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Al Horford — but the group looked disjointed from the start. All five posted negative plus-minus ratings in the opening quarter, as Portland stormed ahead with a 39-point outburst.

Only Butler managed to recover, finishing the first half with a plus-3 before joining the other veterans on the bench for the remainder of the game. Curry ended with 11 points and three assists in 15 minutes, while Butler added 12 points — half from the free-throw line — along with three assists.

Moody scored 10 points but was minus-10, Green had nine points and was minus-5, and Horford, the team’s prized offseason addition, missed all four of his field-goal attempts in 11 minutes, finishing at minus-1.

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Kerr’s Defensive Adjustment Falls Flat

Kerr inserted Moody into the starting lineup over Brandin Podziemski, hoping to bolster the perimeter defense that had struggled in their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“He got to guard the ball,” Kerr explained. “He got to be in the starting lineup, and he became our point-of-attack defender, like Wiggs [Andrew Wiggins] was before. And so, with Wiggs leaving, that opened a void on this team — because Jimmy’s not that.”

But the adjustment did little to slow down Portland’s young backcourt. Shaedon Sharpe led the Blazers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, repeatedly attacking Golden State’s defense early. In their previous game, Lakers guard 

Gabe Vincent had also exposed the Warriors’ weak perimeter containment with 16 points.

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Kerr Cites Lack of Energy, Sloppy Play

Kerr pointed to effort and execution as the main culprits behind the team’s poor start.

“I just didn’t think we had as much energy and focus as they did,” Kerr said. “But it’s a good tape to show. You can’t turn it over 11 times. A lot of them are careless plays — lack of spacing, that sort of thing. So we’ll show them the clips [at practice].”

Golden State committed 12 first-half turnovers and fell behind by as many as 17 points before a second-half surge led by bench players flipped the game in their favor.

“We were careless with the ball,” Kerr added. “It wasn’t a good effort by our team till the second half. Then we got engaged in the fight, and our young guys did a great job.”

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Rocky Start Not a Concern

Despite the rough outing, Kerr downplayed the long-term implications, noting the limited minutes for his veterans and the early stage of preseason experimentation.

“Not quite,” Kerr said when asked if he had seen all the lineup combinations he wanted. “It’s hard, only playing the vets 15 minutes or so. We’ll be able to do that here in the next 10 days or so before the season begins.”

The Warriors have three preseason games remaining before opening the regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 21. Kerr and his staff will use the upcoming stretch to fine-tune rotations and gauge whether the new-look starting five — anchored by Curry, Butler, and Horford — can deliver on its promise of blending shooting, experience, and defensive toughness.

For now, their first glimpse was far from convincing.