Paul will start for Green to get preseason started

SAN FRANCISCO >> Four days remain until the Warriors' first preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers and Steve Kerr chose to answer a looming question out of the gate.

With Draymond Green sidelined because of injury, Chris Paul will be part of the starting five on Saturday night alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney, Kerr said.

“It'll be a great talking point around the water cooler,” Kerr said after Tuesday's practice. “As I said, we'll try a lot of different lineups during the exhibition season. They'll start the first game and we'll see after that.”

The preseason starting five won't be set in stone moving forward, but it'll give the Warriors a look at how Paul plays alongside Curry. The lineup is small with Thompson effectively sliding into a forward position, as he did at times last year. Paul will take on Green's role as a passer to find Curry and Thompson off-ball.

Positionally, another option would have been to start third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga in

Green's place, but Paul can better fill Green's playmaking role as a starter.

It'll be worth watching in preseason games how that same skill can improve the offensive flow for the second unit — or as Kerr calls it, the “non-Steph minutes.” The Warriors had a 113.0 offensive rating with Curry off the floor last season, ranking in the NBA's 35th percentile, compared to a 120.0 offensive rating (90th percentile) with Curry on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass.

In this ultra-small lineup, Thompson will be guarding the power forward position, Kerr noted. It's a drastic shift for Thompson, who defended wings and perimeter players during his preinjury prime. Now at full health nearly three years after tearing his Achilles tendon, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard has the strength to guard up.

“He's so physically strong and used to guarding postup players after switches,” Kerr said. “So we think Klay can guard at the four this year and we can put him in coverage where he's having to defend pick-and-roll as a four and that will be a different job for him. We're planning on doing some of that and seeing how he does.”