<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-why-al-horford-sitting-grizzlies-not-clippers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Warriors are sitting Al Horford vs. Grizzlies, not Clippers on back-to-back');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Why-Warriors-are-sitting-Al-Horford-vs.-Grizzlies-not-Clippers-on-back-to-back.jpg"><figcaption>Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Warriors are sitting Al Horford vs. Grizzlies, not Clippers on back-to-back</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T16:04:31-07:00">October 26th, 4:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T16:04:31-07:00">October 26th, 4:04pm</time><address><a href="http://kenzofukuda.com">Kenzo Fukuda</a>Kenzo Fukuda (he/him) is a Japanese and Chinese American journalist and writer born and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is in his first season as the Golden State Valkyries and Warriors beat reporter after three seasons of covering Cal Bears basketball. Kenzo is also an avid filmmaker and holds extensive knowledge of basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SAN FRANCISCO– The Golden State Warriors will remain strict in their plan for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-back-to-back-status-gets-firm-steve-kerr-confirmation">managing Al Horford’s health</a> in his 19th season in the NBA. The 39-year-old center <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1982536754134692148" rel="noopener">will not play against</a> the Memphis Grizzlies, the front end of their upcoming back-to-back, according to head coach Steve Kerr. Horford will be available the following night against the Los Angeles Clippers, which will give him a full four days of rest since the Warriors’ overtime win against the Nuggets the previous week.</p><p>After practice Sunday morning, Kerr explained some of the reasoning behind resting Horford against the Grizzlies instead of against the Clippers.</p><p>“We always take [the matchups] into consideration. Against Portland [or Denver], it was always a pretty easy choice, dealing with [Nikola] Jokic,” Kerr told reporters. “I would say this one is a much more difficult decision because Memphis, you know, Jaren Jackson Jr. is obviously a great player. But we opted to play him against the Clippers, [as Ivica] Zubac has given us trouble. It’s a really big team, so that’s the way we’ll go with this one.”</p><p>Against Golden State last season, Zubac averaged 17.5 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. The Dubs struggled to keep the big man off the boards, lacking the playable size options to help Draymond Green in the frontcourt. Horford’s presence was missed against the Trail Blazers as Portland scored a whopping 66 points in the paint. </p><p>“We’ll lean into our depth and keep playing people in combinations we believe in and hopefully use our depth to get through this next back-to-back.”</p><h2>Update on Moses Moody’s health</h2><p>The Warriors plan to only play Horford on one end of back-to-back games will be the plan moving forward, as Kerr has stressed multiple times this season. It’s the same load management plan the Boston Celtics and Joe Mazzulla used with Horford during his time there, and the Dubs will remain strict with that procedure.</p><p>On the other end of the Warriors’ health updates, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-warriors-optimistic-moses-moody-debut-vs-blazers">Moses Moody returned to the rotation</a> in Portland. Kerr described Moody’s performance versus the Blazers as a game for Moody to “get his feet wet” and refind his rhythm after being sidelined with a calf injury the past two weeks. Moody told reporters that his calf injury was “really minor.”</p><p>“No structural damage or anything,” Moody said. “I got the MRI and everything. Really it was just strengthening it. It was precautionary and yeah, I’m in a good place.”</p><p>Moody will certainly be an option for Kerr to start once he returns to full form with his defense and spacing capabilities. When asked what’s harder to regain his rhythm, his shooting or his defensive flow, when returning from injury, Moody emphasized finding <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1982555576447189364" rel="noopener">his role in different lineups</a>.</p><p>“I would say, it’s a different flow for different groups you’re on the floor with. So just finding your group and finding your role within that group takes some getting used to,” Moody said. “But defensively, I think that’s pretty self-explanitory. Once you got the rotations down, once you got the principles, then I think that comes back pretty fast.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Warriors’ Moses Moody what’s harder to regain, shooting rhythm or defense flow, when returning from injury:</p><p>“It’s a different flow for different groups you’re on the floor with so just finding your group and finding your role within that group takes some getting used to.” <a href="https://t.co/10LjinVVQj">pic.twitter.com/10LjinVVQj</a></p><p>— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenzofuku/status/1982555576447189364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Warriors will look to build off a strong first week of the season with the Grizzlies-Clippers back-to-back.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Warriors are sitting Al Horford vs. Grizzlies, not Clippers on back-to-back

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-nba-protect-players-gambling-problems');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Al Horford urges NBA to ‘protect the players’ amid fans’ growing gambling problems');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/USATSI_27350467_168403981_lowres.jpg"><figcaption>D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Warriors’ Al Horford urges NBA to ‘protect the players’ amid fans’ growing gambling problems</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T14:53:14-07:00">October 23rd, 2:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T14:53:14-07:00">October 23rd, 2:53pm</time><address><a href="http://kenzofukuda.com">Kenzo Fukuda</a>Kenzo Fukuda (he/him) is a Japanese and Chinese American journalist and writer born and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is in his first season as the Golden State Valkyries and Warriors beat reporter after three seasons of covering Cal Bears basketball. Kenzo is also an avid filmmaker and holds extensive knowledge of basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The aftershocks of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups’ arrests this morning, related to a federal investigation into <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-sports-world-reacts-fbi-gambling-arrests-terry-rozier-chauncy-billups">illegal sports gambling activities and illegal poker games</a>, have begun to reverberate around the league.</p><p>After the Golden State Warriors’ shootaround ahead of their home opener against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, veteran center Al Horford spoke briefly on the stunning news that <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1981425932838850751" rel="noopener">came out just hours earlier</a>.</p><p>“I think it’s something that there’s still more information that needs to come out,” Horford said. “Just going to have to wait and see. You’re given a chance and just have to wait it out. But definitely, I just want to wait for an outcome there. Don’t want to jump to conclusions right away.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-terry-rozier-puts-6-million-home-up-collateral-federal-bond">Rozier and Billups’ gambling-related arrests</a> have taken the league at large by firestorm. While fans have made numerous jokes about the situation, writers, critics, and reporters have pointed out how the NBA itself and the sport in general have become increasingly tied to the legal sports gambling business.</p><p>For Horford, who’s in his 19th season in the league, also made a strong statement regarding how the fans’ relationships and interactions with the players have changed over time as betting and betting advertisements have grown with the league.</p><p>“Absolutely, yeah,” Horford answered to a follow-up about how fan interactions have worsened.</p><p>“It’s much different. It looks aggressive at times. And I understand we are professional athletes, this is the world we’re in and everything. But I think the league itself has to step in and probably do more to protect the players. And to be better. All of this comes with it; it’s the fan engagement. But also, there’s that other part.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford also talked about how the fan-player relationship has become “aggressive” as sports gambling has become more prominent:</p><p>“I understand that we are professional athletes… but I think the league itself has to step in and probably do more to protect the players.” <a href="https://t.co/pQrAhsWNWn">https://t.co/pQrAhsWNWn</a> <a href="https://t.co/tAjZpooZhq">pic.twitter.com/tAjZpooZhq</a></p><p>— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenzofuku/status/1981427779779621329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Safety is a big concern among NBA players</b></h2><p>Early this year, a disgruntled bettor shared his direct messages on Instagram with Timberwolves big man Naz Reid in which the bettor clearly antagonized Reid for not accumulating enough stats to pay off his parlay. Knicks star Jalen Brunson told The Athletic the bulk of the fan messages on his social media account tend to be threats from people who’ve lost out on bets because of him.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-players-rant-gambling-partnerships">And in a poll conducted</a> by The Athletic last season, 46% of players surveyed believe gambling partnerships <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6298159/2025/04/22/nba-player-poll-gambling-partnerships/" rel="noopener">are bad for the league.</a> One anonymous player described the practice as “predatory,” while another shared how their DMs are filled with hateful messages.</p><p>The players have real concerns over what that means for them. Hence why Horford made a point to urge the league to put measures in place to protect them. And in conjunction with the Rozier and Billups arrests, it’s an issue that the league will have to address, especially as the NBA’s business side becomes more involved in the gambling industry.</p><p>“It’s a very interesting time; it’s the first time as a league and a society we’re all living and going through it,” Horford continued. “So I’m sure it will be worked out, and that will be better. But that comes with the territory and something we have to deal with.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Al Horford urges NBA to ‘protect the players’ amid fans’ growing gambling problems

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jonathan-kuminga-named-starter-over-al-horford-vs-lakers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga named starter over Al Horford vs. Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Warriors-Jonathan-Kuminga-dribbles-the-ball-up-the-court.jpg"><figcaption>David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga named starter over Al Horford vs. Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-21T17:23:47-07:00">October 21st, 5:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-21T18:07:22-07:00">October 21st, 6:07pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although it took several months to reach a conclusion to the Jonathan Kuminga contract saga, the Golden State Warriors understand how important the 23-year-old forward is to their 2025-26 blueprint. And that is why they are <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1980769418759086291" rel="noopener">inserting him into the starting five</a> for Tuesday night’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/sources-jimmy-butler-jonathan-kuminga-will-play-vs-lakers">season-opening showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers</a>, via ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel.</p><p>The Dubs are rolling with Kuminga instead of veteran big man Al Horford, choosing to employ a small-ball lineup against Luka Doncic and company. Amid all the concerns about how the former No. 7 overall draft pick and head coach Steve Kerr would coexist this year, the latter is placing a strong amount of trust in the former right at the onset.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-back-to-back-status-gets-firm-steve-kerr-confirmation">Horford brings loads of experience</a> with him to the Bay Area and proved he could still log considerable minutes in his second stint with the Boston Celtics, but he will be best utilized as a dependable role player who can make an impact on both sides of the floor. If this squad wants to raise its ceiling to championship contention-heights, it needs Kuminga to take a definitive leap forward.</p><p>The native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023-24 before fading into the background last season. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 47 games for the Warriors. Kuminga signed a two-year, $46.8 million contract that carries a team option for 2026-27, so he should be brimming with motivation moving forward.</p><p>While there is speculation that Golden State could look to move him before the trade deadline, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and the rest of this team are counting on the 2022 NBA champion to help them reclaim the Western Conference throne. Jonathan Kuminga will try to help the Dubs conquer the Lakers in Crypto.com Arena, and he may just make a statement in the process. The action tips off at approximately 10 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga named starter over Al Horford vs. Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-back-to-back-status-gets-firm-steve-kerr-confirmation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford’s back-to-back status gets firm confirmation from Warriors HC Steve Kerr');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Golden-State-Warriors-forward-Al-Horford.jpg"><figcaption>David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Al Horford’s back-to-back status gets firm confirmation from Warriors HC Steve Kerr</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-20T18:00:09-07:00">October 20th, 6:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-20T18:03:35-07:00">October 20th, 6:03pm</time><address><a href="http://kenzofukuda.com">Kenzo Fukuda</a>Kenzo Fukuda (he/him) is a Japanese and Chinese American journalist and writer born and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is in his first season as the Golden State Valkyries and Warriors beat reporter after three seasons of covering Cal Bears basketball. Kenzo is also an avid filmmaker and holds extensive knowledge of basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SAN FRANCISCO– As one of the oldest teams in the NBA, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/what-we-learned-warriors-preseason-2025">the challenge for the Golden State Warriors</a> this season will be maintaining their health over the course of 82 games. That means managing the minutes of their stars Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, as well as strictly regimenting the games <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-3-observations-al-horford-debut">39-year-old center Al Horford plays</a> this year.</p><p>After the Warriors’ practice Monday morning, head coach Steve Kerr reconfirmed that Horford will not play both ends on back-to-back games this season, a carryover from how the Boston Celtics and Joe Mazzulla managed the <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1980356814991675691" rel="noopener">veteran center’s rest</a>.</p><p>“Al [Horford] won’t play in the back-to-back,” Kerr said, referring to the upcoming back-to-back versus Denver then 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.”</p><p>The Warriors have 15 back-to-back stretches this season, which pencils Horford in for missing at least 15 games strictly due to rest. Last season, Horford played 60 games for Boston, starting 42 of them. That is around the benchmark for Horford this season as he did not play more than 69 games the past four seasons but no fewer than 60.</p><p>Later, Kerr talked about the Warriors’ plan for determining which end of these back-to-backs Horford will rest and how they will evaluate his health as the season progresses.</p><p>“That will be something we visit on 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.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Al-Horford-envisions-Dubs-being-his-final-team-before-retirement.jpg"><figcaption>© John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2>How Al Horford’s back-to-back status affects Golden State’s rotation</h2><p>Load managing Horford is all in the quest of getting to the postseason intact and healthy. However, their plan presents important rotational questions that Kerr and the team have acknowledged. Kerr has been mostly non-committal to a set-in-stone starting five – though on Monday, Kerr did hint that he has a starting lineup finalized for the season opener against the Lakers that he declined to share.</p><p>Part of that open-endedness of the starting lineup stems from factors of how restricting Horford’s minutes affects who he plays with and when in the game he’s on the floor.</p><p>“It’s hard to start a guy if he’s only playing 20 [minutes] and [have him] finish the game,” Kerr said 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.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-moses-moody-dealing-calf-injury">Moses Moody’s calf injury,</a> which will hold him out for the season opener and potentially a little longer, also complicates things because they plan for him to be their de facto POA wing defender. Kerr told reporters that he and his coaching staff have held extensive talks about the rotation.</p><p>“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.”</p><h2>Al Horford’s longevity in the NBA</h2><p>Regardless of their rotation question marks, Golden State will stick to their load management plan with Horford. Led by Celebrini, the Warriors are one of the strictest teams in the league when it comes to maintaining their players’ health. They tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to players returning from injury, rarely rushing players back before they are 100%.</p><p>For Horford, he understands the plan to maintain his health so they can have him available when it matters.</p><p>“I feel like the performing 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 managing plan for him.</p><p>“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’s different challenges. For me it’s making sure I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy and ready to play.”</p><p>Horford will make his regular season debut for the Warriors in Los Angeles tomorrow.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford’s back-to-back status gets firm confirmation from Warriors HC Steve Kerr

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-dubs-final-team-before-retirement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford envisions Warriors being his final team before retirement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Al-Horford-envisions-Dubs-being-his-final-team-before-retirement.jpg"><figcaption>© John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Al Horford envisions Warriors being his final team before retirement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-14T10:12:52-07:00">October 14th, 10:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-14T10:12:52-07:00">October 14th, 10:12am</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/colinloughran">Colin Loughran</a>Colin Loughran is a NYC-based Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has spent several years covering sports and has worked for outlets such as the New York Post, AP Radio, and FanSided. Colin is also a three-time NYSBA award winner and a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Veteran center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">Al Horford officially signed a multi-year contract with the Golden State Warriors</a> late last month, and it appears as though the five-time All-Star knows his career is winding down.</p><p>Horford recently told Nick Friedell of The Athletic that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6714977/2025/10/14/al-horford-celtics-warriors-nba/" rel="noopener">he envisions</a> Golden State as the last franchise he will play for.</p><p>“Horford never thought he would leave Boston, but now he is hopeful that San Francisco is the final stop in his NBA journey,” Friedell wrote. “He knows anything can happen in the league, but he believes the Warriors will be his last team.”</p><p>“Yeah, I think so,” Horford said. “I think at this point in my career, where I see everything, that is my expectation, just to be here.”</p><p>The 39-year-old was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-stephen-curry-draymond-green-convinced-al-horford-dubs">encouraged to join the Warriors by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green</a> this past offseason, and will hope to make an impact as the group attempts to compete in an extremely talented Western Conference.</p><p>Horford helped the Boston Celtics bring home an NBA title in 2024, and will hope to add a layer of championship experience and adaptability in short order.</p><p>“As a newcomer, I don’t have all the answers,” Horford said. “I’m coming in with a mindset that I’m gonna learn, and I’m trying to understand how they operate, how they do things. I’ve played against them for a lot of years. I’ve covered their system, so I understand certain things, and I don’t really fully understand what it’s like to be a Warrior. So, for me, I’m coming in here trying to learn. I’m trying to learn as quick as I can because I don’t have all the time in the world. We’re trying to do some really special things here, and it’s just trying to get acclimated as quickly as I can with coach (Steve Kerr), with his terminology, with the players, things that they like, things that they don’t. Just trying to fit into the system.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford envisions Warriors being his final team before retirement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-stephen-curry-draymond-green-convinced-al-horford-dubs');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Draymond Green convinced Al Horford to join Dubs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/How-Stephen-Curry-Draymond-Green-convinced-Al-Horford-to-join-Dubs.jpg"><figcaption>© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Draymond Green convinced Al Horford to join Dubs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-14T08:39:17-07:00">October 14th, 8:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-14T08:39:17-07:00">October 14th, 8:39am</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/colinloughran">Colin Loughran</a>Colin Loughran is a NYC-based Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has spent several years covering sports and has worked for outlets such as the New York Post, AP Radio, and FanSided. Colin is also a three-time NYSBA award winner and a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA regular season is around the corner, and the Golden State Warriors will enter the fresh campaign with center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-what-al-horford-will-take-advantage-of-playing-with-stephen-curry">Al Horford ready to play alongside fellow veterans Stephen Curry</a> and Draymond Green.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">Horford inked a multi-year contract to join the Warriors late in September</a>, and the five-time All-Star recently said that the conversations he enjoyed with both Curry and Green were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6714977/2025/10/14/al-horford-celtics-warriors-nba/" rel="noopener">key reasons behind his decision</a> to sign with the team.</p><p>“The Warriors provided the type of well-run team — and championship opportunity this season — that made the move smoother, and Horford thought he would fit within their mix of high-level veterans and younger players looking to make their own mark,” wrote Nick Friedell of The Athletic. “Horford said at his opening news conference last week that he did not have a relationship with Warriors team leaders Stephen Curry and Draymond Green before signing with Golden State. But once it became clear that playing with the Warriors was a possibility, he started to get a recruiting pitch from both.”</p><p>“Yeah, I had communication with them, with Steph and Draymond,” Horford said. “And that was important. It happened very fast because it was at a point where they came to me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you,’ and all these things. And it was one of these things that, for me, looking at this fit and the potential, it just felt right. So them reaching out to me was important.”</p><p>An 18-year veteran, Horford helped the Boston Celtics win an NBA title in 2024, and could be a difference-maker for a Golden State team that is hoping to compete in a crowded Western Conference field.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Draymond Green convinced Al Horford to join Dubs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-what-al-horford-will-take-advantage-of-playing-with-stephen-curry');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Warriors’ Al Horford will ‘take advantage of’ playing with Stephen Curry');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Golden-State-Warriors-forward-Al-Horford.jpg"><figcaption>David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>What Warriors’ Al Horford will ‘take advantage of’ playing with Stephen Curry</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-07T14:30:43-07:00">October 7th, 2:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-07T14:30:43-07:00">October 7th, 2:30pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors took their time to make moves during the NBA offseason. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-insider-claims-jonathan-kuminga-peace-inking-new-contract">Golden State agreed to a contract with Jonathan Kuminga</a>, kicking off a flurry of moves. One of the biggest was the addition of Al Horford to the roster. He joins one of the older rosters in the NBA, but Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has a handful of new weapons at his disposal.</p><p>Horford was a key piece of the Boston Celtics team that won a championship in 2024. The veteran center is in the later stages of his career, but he is still an effective player on the floor. Now, he has a chance to play alongside Stephen Curry, one of the NBA’s scariest superstars. Horford spoke to ESPN’s Anthony Slater about what having Curry on his team <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1975666959464485031" rel="noopener">does for him offensively</a>.</p><p>“For me, it’s just continuing to play off of his energy,” Horford said about Curry. “He does such a good job terrifying everyone in the league every time he moves. That’s something I’m going to really take advantage of.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">Horford’s arrival to Golden State</a> gives Curry something he has not had since playing with DeMarcus Cousins. The center can space the floor, opening up driving lanes for the Warriors superstar to exploit as a part of Kerr’s offensive schemes. For a team that relied on Kevon Looney and Quinten Post last season, Horford is a breath of fresh air.</p><p>The Warriors’ season ended in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/mind-blowing-stephen-curry-stat-may-have-led-to-hamstring-injury">Curry went down with a hamstring injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves</a> and never returned, dooming Golden State. Now that he is healthy and has new teammates around him, the Warriors are optimistic about their chances.</p><p>If Horford can continue to mesh well with Curry and his new teammates, the sky’s the limit for Golden State.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Warriors’ Al Horford will ‘take advantage of’ playing with Stephen Curry

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-unspoken-chemistry-stephen-curry-preseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford’s ‘unspoken chemistry’ elevates Warriors, Stephen Curry in preseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Al-Horford-warming-up.jpg"><figcaption>Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Al Horford’s ‘unspoken chemistry’ elevates Warriors, Stephen Curry in preseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-06T08:42:07-07:00">October 6th, 8:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-06T08:42:07-07:00">October 6th, 8:42am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Even at 39 years old and entering his 19th NBA season, Al Horford remains a highly impactful and efficient player. This is especially true now that he is playing alongside experienced All-Stars like Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler on the Golden State Warriors, a team where his unique style of play fits in perfectly.</p><p>Although he may not have<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract"> officially signed with the Warriors</a> until the start of training camp, Golden State knew they were adding Horford all offseason long. The veteran big man was the Dubs’ top free-agency target this summer, and after one preseason game, it’s clear to see why that was.</p><p>The Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 111-103 in their first preseason game on Sunday night, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-3-observations-al-horford-debut">Horford made his debut for Golden State</a> with three points, four rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in 14 minutes off the bench.</p><p>Horford did a little bit of everything in his first action as a member of the Warriors, but what stood out the most was that the five-time All-Star and NBA champion seemed like he’s been playing with this group for years.</p><p>Aside from making the game easier for the young players on the Warriors’ roster, Horford already seems to be comfortable playing alongside Curry and Butler. That became very clear when Horford found Curry on an easy give-and-go layup early in the game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Stephen Curry and Al Horford play the give-and-go to perfection 💯 <a href="https://t.co/Gpi9qRtfo1">pic.twitter.com/Gpi9qRtfo1</a></p><p>— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_AU/status/1975011487866597686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Horford is a <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1975042074648146255" rel="noopener">calming presence</a> for this championship-experienced Dubs squad, and he will fill a role that many before him, like David Lee, David West, Andrew Bogut, and Andre Iguodala, have filled over the last decade — the role of the veteran leader who bridges the gaps between the team’s stars.</p><p>“An experienced, championship-caliber player that can fit with any lineup out there. He gives space, he gives his presence on the defensive end; you saw the pass he made to me out of the corner,” Curry said in his postgame comments about Horford, via ClutchPoints’ Warriors reporter Kenzo Fukuda. “It’s just kind of the unspoken chemistry that will continue to get better. He is multidimensional as a 5-man.</p><p>“I’m excited to see what that looks like for me, for Jimmy, for JK (Jonathan Kuminga), and for Draymond (Green). Any lineup, you can throw him out there at the five, and he lifts the group.”</p><p>Throughout the 2025-26 NBA season, the Warriors will utilize Horford in many different ways, similar to how Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics used the veteran through the years. Horford was an integral part of the Celtics’ recent championship run in 2024, and the Dubs will look to use him in a similar way.</p><p>However, unlike when he was with the Celtics, Horford is now with a team that has already won a championship — four since 2015, to be specific.</p><p>Very few teams in the NBA have three experienced, unselfish stars like Curry, Butler, and Green who can all play off one another in a very unselfish manner. Now, with another skilled veteran like Horford in the equation, Steve Kerr <a href="https://www.nba.com/warriors/videos/postgame-warriors-talk-steve-kerr-10-5-25" rel="noopener">recognizes how special</a> of an opportunity his team has entering the new year.</p><p>“To see the size, shooting ability, passing ability, and just the flow of the game. What an addition he is,” Kerr said of Horford’s debut. “We can play him with anybody… He fits any lineup. He makes any lineup better. We’re lucky to have him.</p><p>“This is a guy who’s been around a long time and has seen everything. The game comes very naturally to him.”</p><p>It usually takes weeks, sometimes months, for players to build a strong bond and chemistry with one another. Already, Horford fits like a glove alongside Curry and others in Kerr’s system.</p><p>That is why the Warriors believe his impact can help elevate this group back into the championship equation in the Western Conference during the 2025-26 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Al Horford’s ‘unspoken chemistry’ elevates Warriors, Stephen Curry in preseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-3-observations-al-horford-debut');   ga('set', 'title', '3 Observations from Al Horford’s Warriors debut');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/3-Observations-from-Al-Horfords-Golden-State-debut.jpg"></figure><h1>3 Observations from Al Horford’s Warriors debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-06T05:58:34-07:00">October 6th, 5:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-06T08:10:18-07:00">October 6th, 8:10am</time><address><a href="http://kenzofukuda.com">Kenzo Fukuda</a>Kenzo Fukuda (he/him) is a Japanese and Chinese American journalist and writer born and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is in his first season as the Golden State Valkyries and Warriors beat reporter after three seasons of covering Cal Bears basketball. Kenzo is also an avid filmmaker and holds extensive knowledge of basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SAN FRANCISCO– Warriors basketball is back at Chase Center as Golden State kicked off its preseason with a 111-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers who did not play LeBron James or Luka Doncic. And while it’s impossible to come away with any season-implicating revelations, Golden State looked balanced and smooth in their first outing of the season.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-stephen-curry-hypes-up-dubs-title-chances-with-jimmy-butler">Warriors stars Stephen Curry</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-lakers-jarred-vanderbilt-heated-moment">Draymond Green</a>, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/how-jimmy-butler-iii-will-influence-a-deliberate-pace-for-warriors">Jimmy Butler</a> were limited to around 15 minutes. And while the veteran core tried to knock off some of their summer rust, they had moments reminiscent of what made them such a threat late last season. Not to mention Dub Nation got their first glimpse of free-agent acquisition Al Horford, who looked comfortable with his new team.</p><p>With the Warriors basketball season underway, here are three observations that point to how their season will transpire.</p><h2>Al Horford flashes Warriors’ ceiling</h2><p>With the kind of basketball Horford’s played his entire career, it’s not a surprise he looked like he’s been in Golden State for the past decade in his first look with the Warriors. In 14 minutes of preseason action, Horford finished with three points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a +13 plus/minus.</p><p>He did all the little things that make the Warriors who they are. Horford ran the floor, found his teammates slashing to the paint, was in all the right spots defensively as the anchoring rim protector, and gave Golden State the spacing it craved when they recruited him to the Bay. In his postgame press conference, Steve Kerr <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1975056291065401730" rel="noopener">shared his impression</a> of Horford’s debut.</p><p>“Fun. To see the size and the shooting ability, passing ability, just the flow of the game, what an addition he is,” Kerr said. He later talked about how impressed he was with Horford’s IQ. “He’s just always in the right spot. I think he had a couple of blocked shots. The two I remember he just rotated over perfectly, recognized the late shot clock, knew exactly where he was, what he needed to do.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Steve Kerr shared his impression of Al Horford tonight in his Warriors’ preseason debut:</p><p>“What an addition he is… he’s just always in the right spot. He had a couple of blocked shots but the two I remember, he just rotated over perfectly.”</p><p>Kerr emphasized his high IQ. <a href="https://t.co/w8QtpNt4r4">pic.twitter.com/w8QtpNt4r4</a></p><p>— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenzofuku/status/1975056291065401730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While a lot rides on the Warriors maintaining the 39-year-old center’s health throughout the season, Horford showed a flash of what this team can look like if they stay fully intact. Kerr said pregame that the Dubs will follow how Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics managed Horford last season. That’ll mean resting Horford in back-to-backs and “hectic” areas of the schedule.</p><h2>Moses Moody’s shooting</h2><p>For as important as he was last season during Golden State’s 23-8 run to close the season, Moses Moody has flown under the radar as of late. Bouncing back from a torn UCL in his right thumb, the fifth-year player finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. After the game, he talked about how his shot feels after <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1975059602820747450" rel="noopener">undergoing surgery this summer</a>.</p><p>“Good,” Moody said. “I think the surgery and everything ended up being a good thing for me because I was rehabbing and bringing my thumb back into my shot made me slow down and notice everything about my jump shot. That helped me a lot.</p><p>Moody was also incredibly stingy on the defensive end, which the Warriors will need as he projects to be their main point-of-attack defender this season. Kerr talked about how Moody boosts the Dubs’ small-ball lineup.</p><p>“What I like about the small [ball] lineup is it really empowers Moses [Moody] to be that disruptor defensively, which he was right away,” Kerr said. “I picked up a couple of fouls, but no, he had a couple deflections. You could feel his presence right away and, you know, and he had his great shooting line.”</p><p>Moody was a part of the Warriors’ highly efficient five-man lineup with Curry, Green, Butler, and Podziemski. He was in charge of hounding opposing guards and spacing the floor with his shooting. After the game, Curry talked about how Moody has <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1975055211153834116" rel="noopener">evolved over the past year</a> to become an important part of Golden State.</p><p>“It’s his confidence. For a young guy, when you don’t know when your minutes, that’s the biggest challenge,” Curry said. He emphasized how Moody going through all these different scenarios has prepared him mentally for high-pressure spots.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Stephen Curry said that Moses Moody probably had his best summer this offseason and talked about the change he’s seen from the fifth-year wing:</p><p>“It’s his confidence. For a young guy, when you don’t know your minutes, that’s the biggest challenge.” <a href="https://t.co/MtfCA7spft">pic.twitter.com/MtfCA7spft</a></p><p>— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenzofuku/status/1975055211153834116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>Charting out Steve Kerr’s rotation for Warriors</h2><p>Preseason rotations mean about as much as the loose change in your thrifted blue jeans– not that much. But the Warriors feel confident they have a deep rotation and a lot of options depending on the matchup. In this preseason game, Kerr toggled with the tried and true Curry, Green, and Butler lineups, experimenting with Horford, Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Jonathan Kuminga next to them. Those seven players are sure to be staples of Kerr’s rotation.</p><p>But Kerr also threw out a Horford-Post double-big lineup, something he hinted at earlier this week. It gave Golden State an intriguing amount of size and shooting, albeit with some awkward defense as Post and Horford exchanged guarding the Lakers’ power forwards. Postgame, Kerr talked about how the two stretch bigs played next to each other.</p><p>“It was fun to watch because you get two really big guys on the floor together. That kind of size and shooting at the same time is a really interesting combination,” Kerr explained.</p><p>“We played some zone out with them. You could see the length there, and we made a good run at the end of the second quarter. Got three or four stops there with the zone, ran the floor well, and both guys see the game. Good passers. So that was a fun night to watch that combination.”</p><p>Preseason’s all about experimentation. The Warriors will do more of that Wednesday versus the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 Observations from Al Horford’s Warriors debut

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-fans-finally-get-first-look-at-al-horford-in-action-with-golden-state');   ga('set', 'title', 'Fans finally get first look at Al Horford in action with Warriors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Warriors-center-forward-Al-Horford-20-directs-teammates.jpg"><figcaption>© David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Fans finally get first look at Al Horford in action with Warriors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-05T23:02:31-07:00">October 5th, 11:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-05T23:02:31-07:00">October 5th, 11:02pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It took a bit of time to become official, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">Al Horford has officially been brought in by the Golden State Warriors</a> after months of negotiations with Jonathan Kuminga prevented the Dubs from making any other big transactions. Now that that’s out of the way, the Warriors can now focus on building chemistry for the upcoming season, starting in training camp and in preseason — with Golden State actually facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, taking a 111-103 victory.</p><p>The Warriors are beginning to ramp up, with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green even suiting up for their first game of the exhibition season. Considering that they’re in their mid-to-late 30s, it’s quite a breath of fresh air to see them suit up for a game that’s as void of meaning as it can be in a season. In fact, even Horford <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1975005907768455191" rel="noopener">was active</a> and logged 14 minutes off the Warriors bench — even flashing for stretches how big of an addition he’d be for the Dubs this upcoming season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford checked in to a huge ovation for his first Warriors preseason game 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/Fztfipmy2f">pic.twitter.com/Fztfipmy2f</a></p><p>— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1975005907768455191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>One would think that the Warriors will be deploying Horford as their starting center for the upcoming season, sparing Green from the bigger, bruising matchups until it’s totally necessary for the Dubs to go smaller.</p><p>Nonetheless, with head coach Steve Kerr still incorporating the 39-year-old center into the mix, it made total sense for Horford to start on the bench. With his advanced age as well, it was best to not throw him into the fire immediately — not against a shorthanded Lakers squad, and especially not in a garden-variety preseason game.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/al-horford-versatility-raises-warriors-ceiling-offense-defense">Horford ended his first game in a Warriors uniform</a> with three points, four rebounds, and three assists to go along with, perhaps most importantly, three blocks. It’s the floor-spacing and rim protection that he provides that will make him such an invaluable member of the Dubs roster this upcoming campaign.</p><h2><b>Al Horford, Warriors continue their march against time</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Golden-State-Warriors-Media-Day.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Father Time might be the biggest obstacle that stands in front of the Warriors in their quest for another title. All of their core four players are 35 years of age or older, which means that age-related decline is not just possible, but very likely.</p><p>Nonetheless, as long as Curry is playing at a superstar level and Butler and Green are healthy enough to provide the support Curry needs, the Warriors should be a favorite for a top-half playoff spot even in a loaded Western Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Fans finally get first look at Al Horford in action with Warriors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-pays-tribute-al-horford-warriors-move');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Jayson Tatum pays tribute to Al Horford after Warriors move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Celtics-win-Game-2-1.jpg"><figcaption>© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Jayson Tatum pays tribute to Al Horford after Warriors move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-02T06:44:29-07:00">October 2nd, 6:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-02T06:44:29-07:00">October 2nd, 6:44am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics will look like a completely different team this season after the moves that they made over the offseason. One move they made was not re-signing Al Horford, and throughout the summer, there were rumors that he would sign with the Golden State Warriors. After some time, the move officially happened, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-al-horford-tribute-tear-to-eye">Celtics gave him a farewell post</a> on social media.</p><p>Jayson Tatum <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973598471052730656" rel="noopener">reposted the farewell message</a> and put three crossed-fingers emojis on it, showing his respect for Horford. Those two won a championship together, and it’s safe to say that Horford was Tatum’s vet throughout most of his time in the league. Horford played several roles for the Celtics, as sometimes he would start, and other times, he would come off the bench.</p><p>He was the perfect player at his position for what the Celtics were trying to do, which is play space and pace basketball. He got a lot of good shots just off the fact that the defenses were keyed in on Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Now, the Celtics will have to find another player to find that same success this season, but unfortunately, Tatum may not be on the floor.</p><h2><b>Al Horford shares why he joined the Warriors</b></h2><p>It almost felt like everyone knew that <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46453380/al-horford-warriors-were-obvious-choice-leaving-celtics">Horford was going to sign with the Warriors</a> this offseason, no matter how long it took. With Horford now with the team, he shared <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46453380/al-horford-warriors-were-obvious-choice-leaving-celtics" rel="noopener">why he made the decision</a> to leave the Celtics and sign with the Warriors.</p><p>“It’s a great opportunity to compete and to win at a high level,” Horford said via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “When I think about the Warriors, I think about Steph and Draymond and Steve Kerr and seeing Jimmy Butler here. What he did in that second half of the season last year after the trade and how they’re playing. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to leave Boston, but if there was the place, that was this one, and it happened and I happened to give this opportunity, so I jumped at it.”</p><p>Horford may not get those same open opportunities like he did in Boston, but he’s with an organization that knows how to win, and he can fit in anywhere. He’ll most likely slot in as the starting center playing alongside Draymond Green, and that could work well on both ends of the floor.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum pays tribute to Al Horford after Warriors move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/al-horford-versatility-raises-warriors-ceiling-offense-defense');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Al Horford’s versatility raises Warriors’ ceiling on offense and defense');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/How-Al-Horfords-versatility-raises-Warriors-ceiling-on-offense-and-defense.jpg"></figure><h1>How Al Horford’s versatility raises Warriors’ ceiling on offense and defense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-02T06:18:03-07:00">October 2nd, 6:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-02T06:18:03-07:00">October 2nd, 6:18am</time><address><a href="http://kenzofukuda.com">Kenzo Fukuda</a>Kenzo Fukuda (he/him) is a Japanese and Chinese American journalist and writer born and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is in his first season as the Golden State Valkyries and Warriors beat reporter after three seasons of covering Cal Bears basketball. Kenzo is also an avid filmmaker and holds extensive knowledge of basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SAN FRANCISCO– Like any top-heavy team, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-how-jimmy-butlers-minicamp-presents-future-look-back-moments">the success of the Golden State Warriors</a> this season obviously hinges on the play of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. But a good chunk of them and the Warriors’ effectiveness on the court this season also rests on the shoulders of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-gushes-chance-play-stephen-curry">stretch five center Al Horford</a>, whose contract situation has finally resolved itself in the wake of Jonathan Kuminga’s contract extension.</p><p>On Wednesday, the team formally introduced the 39-year-old to the Bay Area. At his introductory press conference, Horford explained why he chose <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-al-horford-tribute-tear-to-eye">to leave the Boston Celtics</a>, a franchise and a fanbase where he was beloved.</p><p>“It’s a great opportunity to compete and to win at a high level,” Horford told reporters.</p><p>“[With] the Warriors, I think about Steph and Draymond, and Steve Kerr. And seeing Jimmy Butler here and seeing what he did for them in the second half of the season after the trade and how they were playing, for me, if there was one place that I was going to leave [Boston for] it was this. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Boston, but if there was a place, it was this one, and I happened to get this opportunity. So I jumped at it.”</p><p>Horford’s affiliation with the Warriors was in limbo due to the tenuous back-and-forth negotiations between Kuminga and Golden State, as the introduction marked his first time participating in the team’s training camp to the relief of everyone involved.</p><p>But it’s better late than never as Horford joins a Golden State big rotation in desperate need of his skill set. Here’s why the Warriors are excited about what he brings to the team.</p><h2>A versatile center not seen before in Golden State</h2><p>Horford brings something to Curry and Green that they haven’t had in their entire careers. They’ve had defensive anchors who can also set bone-crushing screens like Andrew Bogut and Kevon Looney. They’ve had pure stretch bigs like Maresse Speights and Quintin Post, who, while limited defensively, can space the floor. But they’ve never had a center <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1973500413317095823" rel="noopener">who can do all of those things</a>.</p><p>“It’s not just any space five, it’s Al Horford,” Kerr said, citing the accomplished veteran center’s versatility when asked about the significance of his addition.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Steve Kerr: “It’s huge to have a space 5. But it’s not just any space 5. It’s Al Horford.” <a href="https://t.co/KRgvE7GZR5">pic.twitter.com/KRgvE7GZR5</a></p><p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1973500413317095823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“He rebounds, he defends, he’s smart, good passer. Just watching him today, you can see the fit and how smooth he is. He can play with Draymond, space the floor at the five. Can play with Trayce [Jackson-Davis], and Trayce could be the dive man. Play two bigs with him. He can also play the five himself. We can have a five-out lineup, so Al’s versatility and the fact that he fits in any lineup makes him hugely valuable.”</p><p>As Kerr hinted at, the Horford unlocks a bevy of lineups for the Warriors, which should allow them to remain flexible in a loaded Western Conference that’s become more and more dependent on matchups. If the 2025 NBA Playoffs taught us anything about building a contender, the teams with the most amount of options usually go the furthest.</p><p>That was the case with the reigning champions in Oklahoma City Thunder and the runner-up Indiana Pacers– two teams that could play big or small, fast or slow, and throw out whatever lineup needed depending on the matchup. Horford’s versatility helps keep the Warriors from wandering into an extremely unfavorable stylistic matchup.</p><h2>Fit next to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green</h2><p>Horford’s fit also unlocks Green’s strengths at this stage in the former Defensive Player of the Year’s career.</p><p>Green’s inconsistent shooting has made it hard to find a traditional center to play next to him. In the past, Kerr had to sacrifice one of size, shooting, or defense to find a fit in the frontcourt next to Green. With Horford, the Warriors don’t have to sacrifice any of that, and he sees himself fitting comfortably next to Green.</p><p>“He’s a guy who knows how to play the game and make things easy for me,” Horford said, citing Green’s defensive resume and notoriety. “He’s just a really smart player who thinks the game and sees things very clearly.”</p><p>As for Curry, the one whose gravity informs all things offensively, he should be able to generate some good looks for Horford all by himself. Horford was asked how he anticipates <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1973498183578952191" rel="noopener">fitting next to a shooter</a> of Curry’s caliber.</p><p>“I’m excited to be on the floor with [Curry]. Not have to chase him around &amp; try to contest him,” Horford said. “The fact that we’re on the same side is something that’s special for me. I’m really going to try to take advantage and learn from him as much as I can. He sees the game in a very incredible way.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I’m excited to be on the floor with [Steph Curry]. Not have to chase him around &amp; try to contest him. The fact that we’re on the same side is something that’s special for me… He sees the game in a very incredible way."</p><p>— Al Horford </p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@957thegame</a>)<a href="https://t.co/VPfCOdaefX">pic.twitter.com/VPfCOdaefX</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973497623366738269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While the Kerr-designed offense strays away from overusing Curry in the high pick-and-roll unless absolutely necessary, the idea of a Curry-Horford two-man game is a new weapon in the Warriors’ toolbelt. But outside of that, Horford’s IQ matches well with Curry’s off-ball actions, especially considering how good of a screener and pick-and-pop guy he is.</p><h2>The chemistry factor with Horford</h2><p>It’s no secret that Horford is one of the best locker room guys in the NBA– his reputation across the league from teammates, coaches, and organizations is legendary. And while his versatility is definitely important for the Warriors’ success this season, Horford’s leadership and ability to gel easily with his teammates may just be as important, if not more.</p><p>With questions about Kuminga’s fit in the locker room buzzing around Golden State after a tenuous summer of contract negotiations, the next step for the Warriors is moving past the awkwardness the business side of basketball creates. Not to mention the Dubs lost an important veteran and locker room guy in Looney, who was beloved by his teammates. Kerr emphasized how important Horford’s leadership in the <a href="https://x.com/kenzofuku/status/1973501515039203554" rel="noopener">locker room will be this season</a>.</p><p>“I’ve had people from Boston text me, call me, rave about how much he meant,” Kerr told reporters.”We’re going to need that without [Looney]. Losing Loon, we lost a piece of our soul. We lost one of the great leaders I’ve ever been around. And he really didn’t have to say much to be that great leader. So we’re going to miss Loon, and I feel really lucky to have Al to fill that void.”</p><p>For Horford, he acknowledged he’s stepping into a team with established leaders in Curry, Green, and even Butler to an extent. But for the veteran center, he’s “willing to step in wherever needed.”</p><p>“There will be times where I’ll probably step in. If there is something that needs to be said, it’ll be addressed,” Horford said when asked how he sees himself helping lead the locker room. “I’m coming into a team that’s very established, that has its leaders and has its identity, so I’m very happy to be here and have this opportunity.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Al Horford’s versatility raises Warriors’ ceiling on offense and defense

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-al-horford-tribute-tear-to-eye');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Al Horford tribute effort will bring tear to the eye');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Al-Horfords-exit-from-Celtics-all-but-confirmed.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Al Horford tribute effort will bring tear to the eye</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T16:47:21-07:00">October 1st, 4:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T16:47:21-07:00">October 1st, 4:47pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">Al Horford’s signing with the Golden State Warriors</a> in free agency was officially announced over the weekend, it marked the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-message-boston-dubs-signing">end of his tenure with the Boston Celtics</a>. The veteran big man had played the last four seasons with the Celtics, playing a key role in the team’s 2024 championship run. As Horford gave his introductory press conference as a Warrior, the Celtics <a href="https://x.com/celtics/status/1973438039457452196" rel="noopener">released a heartfelt</a> tribute video to Horford encompassing what he meant not only on the court but in the community as well.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"You can win championships in many places, but there's nothing like winning in Boston."</p><p>Big Al helped build the foundation for Banner 18 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/HF98lzhcB4">pic.twitter.com/HF98lzhcB4</a></p><p>— Boston Celtics (@celtics) <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1973438039457452196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With the Celtics opting to redirect their focus this offseason in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s injury in the playoffs, Al Horford’s signing with another team, such as the Warriors, was inevitable. Horford was one of the better center options on the free agent market, but the five-time All-Star had reportedly agreed to sign with the Warriors early in the offseason. The main obstacle that was keeping his signing from being officially announced was the Jonathan Kuminga free agent saga.</p><p>With Horford officially in the fold, he is expected to slot in as the Warriors’ starting center alongside Draymond Green in the frontcourt. His role with the Celtics over the past couple of seasons has been primarily as a reserve big man, but he now gets an opportunity to make an impact as a starter.</p><p>Last season, Horford appeared in 60 games for the Celtics, including 42 starts, at a little over 27 minutes per game. He averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists with splits of 42.3 percent shooting from the field, 36.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 89.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>The No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Horford played nine seasons for the Hawks before he began his first stint with the Celtics from 2016-2019. Prior to rejoining the Celtics, Horford played briefly for the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Al Horford tribute effort will bring tear to the eye

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-gushes-chance-play-stephen-curry');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Al Horford gushes about chance to play with Stephen Curry');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Stephen-Curry-Al-Horford.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Warriors’ Al Horford gushes about chance to play with Stephen Curry</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T15:16:00-07:00">October 1st, 3:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T15:16:00-07:00">October 1st, 3:16pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After battling one another in the 2022 NBA Finals, 19-year <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-free-agency-contract">veteran Al Horford joins All-Star Stephen Curry</a> and the Golden State Warriors ahead of the 2025-26 season. Horford, 39, will start at center for the Warriors, and he can’t wait to play alongside Curry, as he revealed during Media Day on Wednesday.</p><p>Horford is looking forward to finding out what it’s like <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973497623366738269" rel="noopener">to be on the same team</a> as Curry instead of chasing the four-time champion through screens as he has for over a decade, he said, per 95.7 The Game.</p><p>“I’m excited just to be on the floor with [Steph Curry] and not have to chase him around and try to contest him. The fact that we’re on the same side is something that’s special for me,” Horford said. I’m really gonna try to take advantage and learn from him as much as I can. He sees the game in a very incredible way. I’m just going to follow suit and lean on him, and lean on Draymond [Green].”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I’m excited to be on the floor with [Steph Curry]. Not have to chase him around &amp; try to contest him. The fact that we’re on the same side is something that’s special for me… He sees the game in a very incredible way."</p><p>— Al Horford </p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@957thegame</a>)<a href="https://t.co/VPfCOdaefX">pic.twitter.com/VPfCOdaefX</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1973497623366738269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With hopes of capturing his second title after anchoring the defense that secured a championship for the Boston Celtics in 2024, Horford fits head coach Steve Kerr and Warriors’ 3-and-D style of play that led them to their last title in 2022. While his field-goal percentage dipped from 51.1% to 42.3% last season, Horford has been 40% or better from three in two of his last three seasons.</p><h2><b>Warriors’ Al Horford pens a hearfelt letter to Boston</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Warriors-Al-Horford.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After playing seven of his last nine seasons with the Celtics, Warriors’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-message-boston-dubs-signing">Al Horford penned a heartful letter to Boston</a>. Horford’s work ethic, leadership, and effort was a fabric embedded into the Celtics’ winning culture. He was a vital piece of the 2024 championship team, led by its All-Star tandem, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.</p><p>Horford joined the Celtics as a free agent in 2016, as a building block toward the franchise’s 18th championship, as he <a href="https://x.com/Al_Horford/status/1972345590035230988" rel="noopener">mentioned in his letter</a>.</p><p>“From the moment we arrived, you have welcomed my family and I with open arms. This chapter in my career will hold a special place in my heart. Raising banner 18 with this city will be a moment I will always cherish. I am forever grateful for the fans and organization. Thank you, Boston,” Horford wrote on social media.</p><p>Horford and the Warriors begin training camp this week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Al Horford gushes about chance to play with Stephen Curry

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/warriors-news-al-horford-sets-record-straight-retirement-rumors-dubs-revelation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Al Horford sets record straight on retirement rumors with Warriors revelation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Horford-vs-the-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Al Horford sets record straight on retirement rumors with Warriors revelation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T15:01:22-07:00">October 1st, 3:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T15:01:22-07:00">October 1st, 3:01pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Earlier this week, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-hilarious-quip-to-al-horford-question">Golden State Warriors signed</a> veteran free agent big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-al-horford-message-boston-dubs-signing">Al Horford to a</a> multi-year deal ahead of his 19th NBA season. The former Boston Celtics center and 2024 NBA champion will look to add some frontcourt depth to a Warriors team that has been severely lacking in that area for several years now.</p><p>Recently, Horford spoke to the Bay Area press for the first time and <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1973491536894833087" rel="noopener">broke down why</a> he opted to leave Boston for the opportunity to sign with the Dubs.</p><p>“For me, if there was one place that I was going to leave for, it was this. Like I said earlier, it wasn’t an easy decision for me to leave Boston, but if there was a place it was this one, and I happened to get this opportunity, so I jumped at it,” said Horford, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Horford figures to bring perimeter shooting to the Warriors lineup, something Golden State hasn’t had from the center position in quite some time. He’ll also bring veteran experience, although Golden State isn’t exactly lacking in that department considering their average starting lineup age of nearly 36.</p><h2><b>Can the Warriors compete?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Stephen-Curry.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Golden State Warriors enter this season hoping to stay healthy and give it one last run at a championship in the Stephen Curry era. Last year, the Warriors were unable to fulfill the first part of that statement, as Curry went down with a hamstring injury in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a series that the team ultimately lost in five games.</p><p>However, the Warriors put some of their championship metal on display in the series prior to that, knocking off an inexperienced Rockets squad that was motivated by that loss to add Kevin Durant in the offseason.</p><p>If healthy, the Warriors figure to have one of the better starting lineups in the league, but don’t have a whole lot in the way of depth or young talent, even after re-signing Jonathan Kuminga earlier this week. And of course, the health aspect is quite the caveat for a team this old.</p><p>In any case, the Warriors are set to kick off their 2025-26 season on October 21 on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.0	4.0	1.5	0.5	0.5

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.0	4.0	1.5	0.5	0.5

Al Horford news

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