Golden State Warriors: Should Steve Kerr Change Starting Lineup?

Power Forward

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The position that I feel that is up in the air the most is the power forward position. Speculation rose about how much the Warriors depend on two-time all-star David Lee when he went down with a hip injury in the 2013 playoffs, yet they were still able to knock off the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.

Draymond Green has shown that he has the tenacity to hang with the big power forwards that the Western Conference boasts and essentially proved that to the basketball world as a whole in the first round of the 2014 playoffs against the Clippers. Due to Green’s paint presence the Warriors outscored their Los Angeles foe in the paint in six of the seven games by a combined score of 326-282 with Andrew Bogut out for the entire series.

In the series, Lee averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds with Green averaging 11.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. Green is by far the better defender and is the better option for coach Kerr to start at the power forward position to begin the year because he will be able to defend the best power forwards in the Western Conference, such as Blake Griffin, Zach Randolph, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Plus, having a guy who is a walking double-double come off the bench against other teams’ back-up power forwards could even boost Lee’s offensive numbers.

Starter: Draymond Green

Certainty: 55%

Competition: David Lee