De'Anthony Melton Injury Update Could Affect Warriors' Projected Starting Lineup

The Golden State Warriors have a lot of guards. Perhaps too many. Right now, about half of their roster could be considered guards, meaning the competition for the fifth starting spot will be tough.

Last season, the Warriors started with De’Anthony Melton at shooting guard. He was incredible for a few games and then tore his ACL, missing the rest of the season. Many believed that Melton was a candidate to start again this season, but a recent Melton injury update says that he won’t be ready to start the year. 

Warriors insider Anthony Slater reported that “De’Anthony Melton is still in the late stages of ACL rehab. The Warriors anticipate he will miss the early portion of the regular season, per sources. Melton had ACL surgery in early December, about 10 months ago. They like where he’s at but will take a careful approach.”

While this isn’t ideal for the Warriors, it makes sense to play it slow with Melton’s ACL injury. They will need him at 100 percent if they want to compete with the best of the West this year. Rushing him back wouldn’t make sense.

That means there is a spot in the starting lineup that’s up for grabs. The two most likely candidates for that position are Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. Both Moody and Podziemski started at shooting guard last season at different points. 

Moody is probably the most likely to get the nod because of his defensive abilities. Podziemski is maybe a better fit to lead the second unit because of his ball-handling skills. What is for sure is that the Warriors, like always, will experiment throughout the season to see what lineup combinations work best. Once Melton’s injury is fully healed, he will also be in the mix for some of the main shooting guard minutes.