The Golden State Warriors’ much-needed lineup change did not result in a victory on Thursday. The Warriors were defeated 121-113 by the rising Los Angeles Clippers, with sloppy point-of-attack defense and Stephen Curry’s second consecutive off night dooming them to a seventh consecutive road loss.

Nonetheless, Golden State will come home from a three-game losing streak with some much-needed confidence in the aftermath of Draymond Green’s indefinite ban. Why? Bringing in Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga for tipoff definitely gave the Warriors a spark on both ends, something Steve Kerr feels will last as his team’s new starting lineup becomes more comfortable.

“It felt like we needed a shift,” Kerr said after the game, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I believe Brandin provides us with an extra playmaker in the starting lineup. He’s obviously a strong rebounder, competitor, and defender. Then JK deserves the minutes, and with Draymond out, it’s a wonderful opportunity for him to fill in. It appears to be a community that can truly bond.”

Kerr went on to suggest that Curry, Podziemski, Thompson, Kuminga, and Kevon Looney would be the starters for “the next few games.”

The Warriors’ revised rotation delivers much-needed relief.

Andrew Wiggins came off the bench for Golden State against Los Angeles, marking the first time in his decade-long career that he did not start a regular-season game. While that shift did not result in the bounce-back game Wiggins so desperately needed, he did play with the two-way aggressiveness that has been severely absent during a terrible start to 2023-24. He finished with nine points and three rebounds on three shots, shooting 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.

At halftime, Golden State trailed by double digits, unable to control James Harden and Kawhi Leonard while committing mistakes and fouling at an alarming rate. After Klay Thompson hit a three-pointer midway through the third quarter to keep the Dubs in the game, a revamped bench unit of Chris Paul, Podziemski, Moses Moody, Wiggins, and Dario Saric trimmed the Clippers’ advantage to one early in the fourth.

Ty Lue’s squad sold out to make anyone other than the Splash Brothers score, and the Warriors couldn’t clinch the deal once Curry and Thompson returned. Nonetheless, the evident and instant efficacy of a new rotation—which isn’t exactly surprising, by the way—counts as a pleasant silver lining they can carry back to the Bay ahead of Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.