Ike Diogu showed up for practice Tuesday knowing that changes were needed to get the Warriors back on the winning track. He just didn't figure that he'd be front and center among those changes.

In a move sure to please Warriors fans, Diogu will replace Adonal Foyle in the starting lineup beginning with tonight's game against Boston. Coach Mike Montgomery informed his team of the anticipated switch before practice, though he still caught his rookie by surprise.

"I was kind of like, 'Wow.' I didn't expect that at all," Diogu said. "The last two games, I've been playing a lot, but the games before that, I wasn't really playing. So that's just how it is.

"Some nights, you're going to be on. Some nights, you're going to be off."

For the moment, Diogu is on. He has scored 39 points in his last two games, leapfrogging Foyle and second-year player Andris Biedrins in the Warriors' rotation. Montgomery is now gambling that Diogu can help spark a team that has lost five straight, all with the same story line.