Warriors’ Stars Not Expected to Play in Preseason Matchup vs. Trail Blazers

The Golden State Warriors looked sharp in their home preseason game on Tuesday night, but the Portland Trail Blazers are going to see a much different group on Wednesday.

Guard Stephen Curry, forward Draymond Green and center Al Horford are among the players who will not even make the trip to Moda Center, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.

According to a team official cited by the San Francisco Chronicle, nine players are out in Portland.

Curry, Green and Horford are joined by rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg, guard Brandin Podziemski, forward Gui Santos, guard De'Anthony Melton, guard Gary Payton II and forward Georges Niang.

It comes down to the schedule, since the Chronicle reported that this back-to-back comes right after the team got home from Hawaii.

Horford already sat on Tuesday with a left knee contusion, and a team source called that a largely precautionary move.

Golden State is still without forward Jimmy Butler III, who is working back from a torn ACL, and guard Moses Moody, who is recovering from a torn patellar tendon, while center Kristaps Porziņģis has missed all of camp with a health issue that the team has not named.

Tuesday made this an easy call.

The Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-98 at Chase Center and were up 81-53 at halftime, though the Lakers sat guard Luka Dončić, guard Austin Reaves and center Walker Kessler on their own back-to-back.

Curry scored 16 points in 14 minutes, Podziemski added 16 and Lendeborg led everyone with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Lendeborg played with a lot more bite than he did in the loss to the Clippers in Honolulu, and he was happy with how it felt.

"Aggressiveness was probably like an 8 out of 10, maybe," Lendeborg said. "I really tried getting downhill, at least a lot more than last game. I was a little more scared last game. But it felt a little more, like, easy. It felt like I could actually do that comfortably."

I would have done the same thing.

The Warriors already have two important players on the long-term injury list, and Horford is the oldest player on the roster, so pushing anyone in a game that does not count makes no sense.

Head coach Steve Kerr got a good long look at his new starting five on Tuesday, and he does not need another one in Portland.

Wednesday is really for the guys at the end of the bench.

Center Charles Bassey, guard Brandon Williams and guard Will Richard are not on the list of players staying home, and if one of them has a big night, Kerr will have one more option to think about when Butler eventually returns.

Golden State hosts the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and plays the Lakers again on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas.

Portland comes to Chase Center for a rematch on Oct. 16 to close the preseason, and the Warriors open the regular season at the Lakers on Oct. 21.

Having Curry, Green and Horford fresh for that night is worth a lot more than a preseason win in Portland.