Warriors' options with Kristaps Porzingis: Biggest questions - ESPN

ON OPENING NIGHT of his 15th NBA season, Draymond Green — generously listed at 6-foot-6 — was slotted as the Golden State Warriors' starting center despite a continued organizational understanding about the accumulated toll it takes on his 36-year-old body.

The Warriors' staff gave Green a physical reprieve two nights later against the Memphis Grizzlies' jumbo front line. But circumstances, which include Al Horford's inability to play bigger minutes in his 20th season, forced Golden State to start Graham Ike, a two-way undrafted center out of Gonzaga in his second career game.

That still left Green out there in the late deciding moments attempting to box out the 7-4 Zach Edey. After failing to wall him off on a defensive rebound, Green committed a crucial frustration foul while the Warriors blew a 12-point lead and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21.

«We got what we got,» Green said when asked about the eroded state of the Warriors' center position. «So we got to make it do what it do.»

The Warriors feel part of the reason for their 37-45 failure a season ago was a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injury misfortune, team sources said, so they have taken a purposeful no-excuse approach this regular season.

That has meant an out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy when it comes to the ongoing absence of presumed starting center Kristaps Porzingis, who was re-signed this summer despite missing 90 games over the past two seasons with three different teams. Ever since Porzingis called out of work one day prior to training camp, the front office instructed Steve Kerr to strategize and prep his team as if Porzingis was a nonfactor.

General manager Mike Dunleavy and lead medical decision maker Rick Celebrini are