PORTLAND, Ore. — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will make his return to the lineup Sunday night against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing the last week and a half because of a lingering right-foot injury and a team-excused absence.
Green initially re-injured his foot during a Dec. 4 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and missed the next three games. The Warriors are hopeful that Green will be able to stay healthy and get the Warriors back on track after Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“It makes a dramatic difference,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Sunday’s game. “Draymond remains one of the great defenders in the league. One of the very best, if not the best, defender that I’ve ever seen. Even at this age, the impact that he makes with his brain, his versatility — but it also changes things offensively. So, there are changes we have to make, shifts we have to make, with our thinking, with our lineups, based on Steph’s return, Draymond’s return. So, it’s good that we have a deep team because we have a lot of options.”
With Green back, Kerr inserted him into the starting lineup alongside Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Quinten Post. That is the 15th different starting lineup the Warriors have had this season and the ninth different starting lineup in as many games. Kerr reiterated that he would like to have a solid starting lineup in place if possible.
“I’d love to,” he said. “You saw last year, I didn’t do it until we got Jimmy. And we finally did, and we went on a run. It would be nice to be able to do that, but I don’t feel like we’re in position to do that, given Steph’s absence, Draymond’s absence, Pat (Spencer’s) emergence. Searching for different combos. A lot of guys being in the same vicinity in terms of lack of separation between who’s playing well, who’s playing poorly. Every night feels a little bit different, so I don’t think we’re there yet.”
When asked if Green could still be used at center, Kerr said “it’s always an option,” but the veteran coach was open about the broader issues his 13-13 team is facing two months into the new year.
“At some point, we just have to find some consistency and some momentum,” Kerr said. “We’re obviously not there yet.”
Kerr said there is no update on veteran big man Al Horford, who missed his fourth straight game because of a sciatica issue. Gary Payton II also did not play Sunday because of an illness.