Kerr’s faith will be tested by obvious lineup changes in the absence of the star-warrior duo

The Golden State Warriors will try to win their 15th straight game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at Chase Center, but more importantly, they will try to end an increasingly worrisome five-game losing streak.

As if the challenge against the Western Conference’s second-place team wasn’t difficult enough, it’s about to become a far more difficult task after the Warriors confirmed that star duo Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will miss Thursday’s game.

Green missed Tuesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena with a calf problem, while Curry will be out with lingering knee problems after missing last week’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s not an ideal time for Golden State to be without both parts of the storied duo for the first time this season, as a third starter, Andrew Wiggins, is also questionable as the 2022 All-Star struggles with ankle issues.

The absences of Curry and Green will likely leave a young and inexperienced starting lineup, with 22-year-old Jonathan Kuminga and 21-year-old Brandin Podziemski already in the starting lineup on Tuesday. The latter is expected to take over Curry’s vacant position, meaning there is another starting spot up for grabs.

Without Curry, the Warriors will certainly need more shots from the field, likely eliminating Gary Payton II from this discussion. That leaves three possible options: Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and Lindy Waters III.

Hield is the leading scorer and 3-point shooter of this trio, but the 31-year-old’s form has waned in recent weeks, not to mention he has only started one game this season. Waters started seven straight games immediately after De’Anthony Melton’s season-ending knee injury, but failed to impress and was completely left out of the rotation against the Nuggets.

Based on recent form, Moody is the obvious choice after causing a stir in the second half on Tuesday. The fourth-year winger scored 13 points in eight minutes to give Golden State momentum, but was overrun in the final six minutes.

Kerr’s faith is being tested by this predicament – does he really want to start three players under the age of 22, especially when the Warriors have found themselves in such a hole in recent games? The head coach’s handling of Moody has been a notable storyline in recent years, with Thursday’s game another key indication of where Kerr sees the former 14th overall pick in the pecking order.