Golden State Warriors: Ranking the team’s center options

3. Zaza Pachulia

Even if Bell quickly ascends, it is almost impossible to imagine Pachulia losing his starting job. He just fits so perfectly with Golden State’s four stars. Pachulia never needs — or wants — shots, allowing for three high-usage scorers to exist in harmony. He is more than willing to set screens, set people up with high-post passing and watch his teammates get the glory.

Defensively, he battles big-bodied centers down low, dishes out hard fouls when they are needed and boxes out, allowing Durant, Green and Curry to swoop in for rebounds and start the break. He cannot guard the perimeter nor block shots, but the other four starters do more than enough of that.

This does not mean that Pachulia is the team’s best center option. It simply means that, assuming he will continue to play 15 minutes a game, it behooves Kerr to line those minutes up with the starters.

If Green’s minutes at center ramp up in the postseason, Pachulia is the guy most likely to lose out (kind of like how the Warriors going small in the 2015 Finals cost slow-footed starter Andrew Bogut more minutes than backup Festus Ezeli). He loses effectiveness playing in sub-optimal lineups, especially compared to West.