SAN FRANCISCO – As one of the oldest teams in the NBA, the challenge for the Golden State Warriors this season will be maintaining their health over the course of 82 games. This means carefully managing the minutes of their stars Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, as well as strictly regulating the playing time of their 39-year-old center, Al Horford.
After the Warriors’ practice on Monday morning, head coach Steve Kerr reconfirmed that Horford will not play both ends of back-to-back games this season. This approach is a continuation of the rest management plan previously used by the Boston Celtics and Joe Mazzulla for the veteran center.
“Al [Horford] won’t play in the back-to-back,” Kerr said, referring to the upcoming consecutive games against Denver and Portland later this week. “We announced that already, he’s not going to play in any back-to-backs all year. So that changes the rotation for one of those two games, depending on which one we choose Al for.”
The Warriors face 15 back-to-back stretches this season, which means Horford is expected to miss at least 15 games strictly due to rest. Last season, Horford played 60 games for Boston, starting 42 of them. This is roughly the benchmark for his game count this season, as he has not played more than 69 games or fewer than 60 games in the past four seasons.
### Weekly Rotation Adjustments and Health Evaluations
Coach Kerr also shared how the team will determine which game of a back-to-back Horford will rest and how they’ll monitor his health throughout the season.
“That will be something we visit every week. It’ll be Rick [Celebrini, Warriors’ VP of Player Health and Performance] and me, and the player involved, and we’ll hash it out. We’ll have a plan, and then the plan may get obliterated based on something happening. But we’ll definitely have it mapped out each week.”
### How Horford’s Back-to-Back Status Affects Golden State’s Rotation
Load managing Horford is all part of the Warriors’ plan to reach the postseason healthy and intact. However, this strategy introduces important questions regarding the team’s rotation, which both Kerr and the players have acknowledged.
Kerr has remained mostly non-committal about a set starting five, though he hinted on Monday that he has finalized a starting lineup for the season opener against the Lakers – a lineup he declined to share.
Part of the uncertainty around the starting lineup stems from how Horford’s restricted minutes affect his playing time, including who he plays with and when he is on the floor.
“It’s hard to start a guy if he’s only playing 20 [minutes] and [have him] finish the game,” Kerr explained last week. “If he starts and finishes, he’s sitting almost the entire middle part of the game, which is very awkward. So you have to factor that in; we have to factor in Draymond. I don’t want him guarding seven-footers for 82 games. So we might end up with, you know, multiple starting lineups. We haven’t decided.”
The rotation is further complicated by Moses Moody’s calf injury, which will sideline him for the season opener and potentially longer. Moody was expected to be the team’s de facto primary wing defender.
Kerr told reporters that extensive discussions have taken place regarding the rotation.
“Some teams some years, you spend five minutes on the rotation, you see it, it’s clear as day, and you move on to the next subject. We just talked for an hour today as a coaching staff on all the possible five-man combinations. This is not a clean, clear look right now, especially without Moses. That’s another part of the equation. The one thing I know is I feel very comfortable playing 12-13 different guys.”
### Horford’s Longevity and Commitment to Health
Regardless of the rotation uncertainties, Golden State remains committed to their load management plan for Horford. Led by Celebrini, the Warriors are one of the strictest teams in the league when it comes to maintaining player health. They prioritize caution, rarely rushing players back before they are fully ready.
Horford himself understands and supports the plan designed to keep him healthy and available when it matters most.
“I feel like the performance staff and the medical group here does a really good job with that,” Horford said after the final preseason game when asked about the team’s load management plan for him. “As soon as I got here, they’ve been helping me to put me in the best position to be ready to perform. And for me, it’s really just staying consistent with that and that plan. And understanding we play very differently here. The game is faster and there are different challenges. For me, it’s making sure I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy and ready to play.”
Horford is set to make his regular season debut for the Warriors in Los Angeles tomorrow.
https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-back-to-back-status-gets-firm-steve-kerr-confirmation
