Five biggest storylines for the Warriors on their playoff push

The Warriors lived a thousand lives before the All-Star break.

Their all-world defensive anchor was suspended — and suspended again. A beloved coach tragically died. Jonathan Kuminga publicly aired his grievances, then made The Leap. Chris Paul played alongside Stephen Curry, an unimaginable idea for most of this century. Steve Kerr toggled through dozens of lineup combinations as the team blew scores of leads. Steph Curry, still transcendent at 35, at one point said not changing things up would be the “definition of insanity.”

All in just a few months.

The helter-skelter start has the Warriors (27-26) emerging from the All-Star break in 10th place in the West at .500. Green is back from his indefinite suspension and playing at a high level. Paul is due back possibly this month, and Kerr has decided to bring future Hall of Famer Klay Thompson off the bench.

Here’s what to watch for as the Warriors fight to extend their dynasty.

How real is Brandin Podziemski?

The rookie wall comes for everyone, but the Warriors can’t afford for Podziemski’s play to slide. Podziemski leads all rookies — even Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren — in games with at least 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. He leads the NBA in charges drawn and is third among regular rookies in net rating.

The Santa Clara product, whose confidence is his superpower, has earned a spot in the Warriors’ starting lineup. Even the biggest Podz fans couldn’t have seen his rapid ascension coming when Golden State drafted him with the 19th pick.

If he can keep this up, he’ll be by far the best Warriors rookie of the dynasty era. If not, it’ll be clear just how much the Warriors are suddenly leaning on the indispensable 21-year-old to produce in the margins.

Podziemski should always be able to make the type of winning plays Steve Kerr constantly lauds. The consistency of his outside jumper and array of unorthodox finishes in the paint could be the key to whether he can reach an All-Star-level ceiling seemingly out of nowhere.

Is Klay really content with coming off the bench?

All that said, Podziemski probably isn’t going anywhere. His skills as a connector, team defender and pace-booster aren’t traits that ebb and flow like hot shooting does. Barring injury, he’ll leave Klay Thompson coming off the bench at tipoff and watching the end of them from the sidelines, too.

Thompson can say all the right things, but how will that really look in practice? Watch his body language; for as difficult as coming back from consecutive severe lower body injuries was, much of Thompson’s battle is mental at this point. What happens when Thompson misses his first four or five shots and is further relegated to a 15-minute game instead of 25 minutes? How might he bounce back from an inevitable down night?

The Warriors, now and going forward, are going to be at their best with Thompson embracing the Manu Ginobili archetype. If he’s not ready to buy into the bench role, that’ll change everything — from the Warriors’ playoff hopes to his impending free agency.

Can Draymond stay on the straight and narrow?

In the opening weeks of the season, anything felt possible for Green at any moment. He was a loose cannon ready to explode at any moment.

Green was ejected with two technicals against Cleveland. He earned a five-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. Two weeks later, he smacked Jusuf Nurkic for the infamous indefinite suspension.

Heart-to-heart talks between Green and key members of the organization ensued. The big man knows he needs to stay on the court for his team to have a chance at anything meaningful. He needs to straddle the line of intensity without leaning into the unhinged.

Not just this year, but over the course of his career, it’s clear that is a tough balance for Green to strike.

Since returning to the team, Green has avoided any serious incidents while playing up to his potential on both ends of the court. His play and presence was the biggest reason Golden State finished the first half strong and decided to double down on the core at the trade deadline. They’ll need him to continue to tip-toe the tightrope.

Is the Green-Kuminga-Wiggins trio sustainable?

The Warriors’ recent surge has directly coincided with moving Green into the starting center role and flanking him with athletic wings Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga. With Green sidelined, Kuminga and Wiggins were a completely untenable duo. But having Green in the fold unlocks them in a dangerous way.

Around that frontcourt, the Warriors can play ample shooting and playmaking. Wiggins and Kuminga give Golden State its best chance to compete athletically with the best wings in the game, and Green remains a defensive maestro conductor.

That frontcourt, plus Curry and Podziemski, is +26.9 per 100 possessions in over 100 minutes. The three-man combination alone is a team-high +16.9.

The samples are now longer small. It appears the Green-Kuminga-Wiggins frontcourt is here to stay. The early returns on the combination probably played a part in Golden State staying pat at the deadline, so it better be.

Will Kerr and Warriors make a long-term commitment?

All signs point to the Warriors allowing Steve Kerr to coach the team for as long as he’d like. They’d be foolish not to.

And Kerr has given every indication that he intends to remain with the team beyond this year, when his contract expires.

So, what’s the hold-up?

While Kerr has drawn criticism from the fan base for his rotations and late-game decisions tactics this year, he has navigated the difficult dynamics within the locker room. His free-flowing offensive system remains a breath of fresh air in a league that has tilted toward heliocentrism and foul-hunting.

Kerr has called Kevon Looney the “moral compass” of the Warriors. But in truth, he embodies that for the franchise — and in some ways, the league. Even if he might not be the strategist Erik Spoelstra is, he has earned Spo money, if that’s what he seeks, and is the best coach to keep Golden State’s championship window open. An extension could send the right message for the team’s direction going forward.