The Warriors were banged up in the early going of the season, no one more so than Al Horford. The veteran big man didn't necessarily have a major injury, but his sciatic issue hampered him for much of November and December. Through those first two and a half months of the season, Horford played just 16 of the Warriors' 34 games and struggled to find a rhythm.

Horford's health has really picked up over the past few weeks, though, and the 39-year old is now healthy enough to not only play every game in January outside of the back-to-backs, but also start the past two games he's been available. Horford's impact was most noticeable on Wednesday, when he started in the Warriors' 140-124 win over the Utah Jazz.

After the Jazz win, Steve Kerr discussed if Horford would remain in the starting lineup moving forward, and what he liked about Horford's play.

"I am (leaning into starting Horford). Now that he can play 24 minutes, which is where his restriction is, I feel comfortable starting him and still being able to close with him. We can work the math on that, and it's nice having him with Draymond to start the game defensively, so I like what I'm seeing from that group."

Horford posted an extremely well-rounded game on Wednesday, scoring 9 points on 4-5 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal. He clocked in as a +22 — the second-best on the team behind Moses Moody — and was extremely impactful in his 24 minutes.

In the win over the Timberwolves on Sunday, Horford had 10 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists — a more toned-down game, but strong nonetheless in just 22 minutes of action. It's clear that with him healthy, the Warriors' offense flows while he's able to help greatly on defense, even at his older age.

With Horford starting, Quinten Post might actually have a bit more of a consistent role. The second-year center has started 32 games this year, but saw him minutes and overall impact on the game waver from night-to-night depending on matchup and how well his shot was falling. However, with Horford able to play more and tackle the starting big men, Post becomes much more suited to play 15-20 minutes a night dealing with the backup bigs and providing a rest for Horford or Draymond Green. 

The Warriors are still figuring things out post-Jimmy Butler, and the blowout nature of their two wins since Butler's injury skew minutes, as well, but it does appear as though Kerr has settled on a relatively structured 10-man rotation. Steph Curry leads the starting five with Horford, Green, Moody, and Brandin Podziemski, while the bench mob consists of Melton, Post, Will Richard, Gui Santos, and Buddy Hield. It's still a relatively small pair of lineups, but the mix-and-match to maximize the Curry minutes and limit the damage when he's off the floor has worked so far.

The Warriors will need Horford to stop Jalen Duren when the Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons come to Chase Center on Friday night.