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The Golden State Warriors will play without second-year guard Brandin Podziemski on October 15 against the Los Angeles Lakers in a preseason game in Las Vegas.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters following their October 14 practice that Podziemski suffered a broken nose, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole.
Podziemski is being fitted with a mask, Kerr added.
The 21-year-old guard sustained the injury in their 111-93 rout of the Detroit Pistons on October 13. Podziemski was at the receiving end of an inadvertent elbow to his face from teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis in the third quarter.
The injury is a massive blow to Podziemski, who is vying for a starting spot in the Warriors’ backcourt. In four preseason games, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
With Podziemski out, the Warriors would return to the De’Anthony Melton–Stephen Curry backcourt pairing in their starting lineup.
Melton has the inside track to get the starting spot next to Curry, according to ESPN.
Kerr raved about Melton’s two-way skillset, which complements Curry in their backcourt.
“[Melton and Curry] look great together,” Kerr told reporters on October 5. “They just look for each other. De’Anthony is a really good shooter and a playmaker, and he gets in the mix on everything defensively. I’m a big fan of De’Anthony.”
Steve Kerr Mixing and Matching
Kerr has been experimenting with different lineups in the preseason in a roulette-like fashion to see which combinations fit best.
Among those vying for the other starting gig in the Warriors backcourt, Podziemski is the only candidate who has previous experience and familiarity with Curry.
Last season, Podziemski supplanted Klay Thompson in the starting lineup because of his impressive play.
But Kerr said he prefers Podziemski to play with a traditional center rather than in small-ball lineups where Draymond Green plays center.
“Brandin is a good fit playing with that front line,” Kerr said of Podziemski. “When you have that frontline, you need that playmaking to go along with Steph’s shooting. Brandin, he’s gotten really good.”
Curry likes the versatility of their roster even without a clear-cut star as his running mate.
“We have options,” Curry told reporters after the first day of training camp. “We have a defensive-minded guy like Melton. You got a guy who is kind of a connector, can put the ball on the floor [and] create like BP. Me and BP started a couple of times last year. You got Buddy, who can shoot [and] space the floor, a veteran who knows how to play.
“To summarize it: I like where we are at in terms of our options.”
‘Future All-Star’
High expectations were set for Podziemski when the Warriors kept him out of the Lauri Markkanen trade talks.
It went sky-high when Warriors owner Joe Lacob boldly declared, ” We’ve got a future All-Star” in Podziemski.
Podziemski was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after he led the league in offensive fouls drawn (38), showing his commitment to sacrifice his body on the defensive end. He also led the Warriors in total rebounds (427) despite being a 6-foot-4 guard. Most importantly, the Warriors were plus-264, the best in the team, when Podziemski was on the floor.
Podziemski finished his rookie campaign averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 38.5% of his 3-pointers in 26.6 minutes.
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