https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/With-Warriors-stars-out-reserves-get-chance-17559474.php

NEW ORLEANS — Golden State Warriors starters Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins missed Friday’s 114-105 loss to the Pelicans on the second night of back-to-back games and their fifth game in seven days.

Jordan Poole, Moses Moody, Anthony Lamb and Jonathan Kuminga started in their place. Center Kevon Looney was the only active starter who played against New Orleans.

“In this particular case, we have a couple of guys who we’re going to be really careful with on back-to-backs all year,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “Klay may not play in back-to-backs all year. He didn’t last year because of two straight season-ending injuries. Draymond missed half the year last year with the back injury and we’re in the final stage of a grueling road trip.”

On the NBA’s injury report, Curry was listed as out with right elbow soreness, Thompson with Achilles injury management, Green with lower back-injury management and Wiggins with left foot soreness. Donte DiVincenzo, who has missed six consecutive games because of a hamstring injury, also remained out for Golden State.

The Pelicans, led by Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum, returned All-Star forward Brandon Ingram and standout defender Herb Jones (both listed as probable) to their lineup Friday night. If that sounded ominous, it should’ve: The shorthanded Warriors were completely outmatched on paper, which gave Kerr a chance to see what his struggling reserves were made of in extended minutes.

“Every night you get an opportunity, that’s a chance to show the staff that (you) should be out there,” Kerr said.

In Thursday’s 130-129 loss to the Magic in Orlando, guard Ty Jerome (plus-3) was the only Golden State reserve to finish positive in plus/minus. Moody and James Wiseman were each minus-9, Poole (11 points on 4-for-12 shooting) a remarkable minus-10, and JaMychal Green was a team-low minus-15.. Until Friday’s start, Kuminga hadn’t played since Sunday’s loss to Detroit.

Entering Thursday’s games, the Warriors’ starting lineup of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Looney and Draymond Green had the best offensive rating (127.0) by any five-man lineup in the NBA with a minimum of 75 minutes played together. That starting group also was shooting 61.9% from the field, also the best mark in the league in terms of offensive efficiency.

Golden State is a league-best plus-60 with its starters on the floor and minus-91 without them, so there has been a clear drop-off in production when Kerr is forced to turn to his bench, headlined by the inexperienced Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody, and with Poole struggling. Because the team’s current rotations aren’t getting the job done, Kerr told reporters following Thursday’s loss that he’ll be making some changes to the structure of his second unit. But the youngsters aren’t the only ones to blame, and the team has acknowledged that.

“I’m not going to sit up here and point fingers,” Draymond Green said. “Yes, it is the young guys’ fault, but it’s not more their fault than our fault. Yes, they have some things to learn, but equally we have responsibilities we have to live up to, and we’re not doing that, either.”

For the Warriors to begin their climb back up the Western Conference standings, the team’s starters must continue to do more of the same while their reserves — namely the younger players — will have to grow up quickly.

Friday’s game against the Pelicans was essentially a “prove it” moment for Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody and other active players less frequently used. What mattered most were the signs of growth they were expected to show with extended opportunities.

“We want to see our basics,” Kerr said. “Defend without fouling, boxing out, executing our sets and just competing. Running the floor hard and competing every play.... I believe we’re not handling the little stuff. (Against the Magic), ton of missed box outs that led to second opportunities. Ton of fouls. Those are all correctable things....

“That’s what championship teams do. That’s what great teams do, you take care of the little things, you eliminate the easy points for the other team and you give yourself a chance to win every night, and we haven’t done that.”