Warriors hand the keys to Yaxel Lendeborg as Curry and Green sit out against the Clippers

Yaxel Lendeborg's first week in the NBA has people asking whether the Golden State Warriors still need to wait for their next era. On Sunday he gets to show how much of this one he can carry. Stephen Curry (right knee management) and Draymond Green (low back management) have been ruled out of Sunday's home game against the LA Clippers, the first night of a back-to-back, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Both are expected to be available Monday against Phoenix.

That puts the No. 11 pick at the center of the offense. In a column for CBS Sports, Brad Botkin made the case that Lendeborg could extend Curry's window. Through five games the 23-year-old averaged 22.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and four assists. He became the first Warriors rookie since Curry to score 25 or more in three straight games, and Larry Bird is the only other player with 100 points, 40 rebounds and 20 assists in his first five games. Botkin went further and asked whether the front office, which looked to be aiming at 2027 cap space, should now go for a consolidation trade built around Green's expiring contract and Kristaps Porzingis's mostly unguaranteed deal.

Friday brought him back to earth. In the 112-95 NBA Cup win over the Lakers at Chase Center, Lendeborg had six points, one rebound, no assists and five turnovers before fouling out in 24 minutes, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Curry scored 31, the bench added 50, and Golden State came back from 23 down after one quarter. Lendeborg was blunt about his night, saying his lesson was to "try not to wet the bed as bad as I did." Steve Kerr put it down to the normal ups and downs of a rookie year and pointed to the 26 points Lendeborg scored in Minnesota despite seven turnovers.

What it means Sunday against the Clippers

The Warriors are 3-3 and have won three straight: 134-114 at Denver, 119-114 at Minnesota and Friday's rout of the Lakers. The losses came on opening night at the Lakers (127-105), at home to Memphis (111-108) and at Phoenix (131-122). Curry and Green both sat out that Phoenix game, so it is the only real test of how this roster plays without them, and it went poorly. Lendeborg scored 26 that night, but the defense gave up 131.

Curry has been averaging 29.2 points while shooting 44 percent from three, and Green has been running the offense at 7.2 assists a game. Without them, the ball goes to Lendeborg, and he will need to cut down the turnovers. He has 18 over his last five games. CBS noted that Kerr already gives him the ball at key moments late in games and that the offense has posted a top-five rating with him on the floor.

The board for Sunday still has Golden State favored. Novig lists the Warriors at -127 on the moneyline and the Clippers at +122. On the spread, Novig has Golden State -2.5 at -100, and the best price anywhere is FanDuel's -114 on Warriors -1.5. Novig's total is 218.5, with the over at -108 and the under at +102. bet365 has the best under price at -114 on 219.5. Sportsbook hold across the 12 venues runs from 2.9% to 5.1%.