The Warriors are headed into their final game of the preseason run on Friday night against the Clippers on October 17 before they get ready to face the Lakers on opening night of the regular season. While LeBron James will be missing from the court in that season opener, Jimmy Butler, a key starter for Golden State, is expected to return on opening night, giving the Warriors an additional boost beyond James’ absence.
Steve Kerr remains doubtful that Jimmy Butler will play against the Clippers on Friday, but he is confident that he will have him back for the season opener against the Lakers.
“Doubtful for tomorrow. He didn’t practice today. But we feel really good about Tuesday. He’s getting work in, but we didn’t want to play him tomorrow after, you know, three days of inactivity,” said the Warriors head coach in the pre-game media scrum before the game against the Clippers.
“So, he’ll ramp it up the next three days. Jimmy’s also a guy who doesn’t need a whole lot of rhythm, conditioning-wise. He’s in amazing shape. So, we expect him to play on Tuesday,” concluded Kerr on Butler.
Butler missed two preseason games after tweaking his right ankle with a sprain against the Trail Blazers. In the first two preseason games, he averaged 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 60% from the field.
Additionally, Steve Kerr also gave an update about potentially playing Moses Moody on the same night as Butler’s expected return against the Lakers. The Warriors’ shooting guard is currently in rehab for a calf injury.
“I would say Moses is doubtful for the opener just for the same reason as I just mentioned [For Jimmy Butler]. He hasn’t practiced yet, and we’re hoping that he gets on the floor, you know, maybe Sunday or Monday, but without enough ramp-up time, he’s doubtful for the opener,” said Kerr.
With the extended absence of De’Anthony Melton, and now Moody is expected to be sidelined, Kerr needs to decide who will guard Luka Doncic on opening night, as he has lost two key defenders due to injury. Brandin Podziemski’s defense is not considered his strong suit, and defensive guard Gary Payton II is not expected to play more than 15-16 minutes per night on rotation.
Therefore, Kerr will need to figure out who to assign to Doncic whenever he is on the floor. If he assigns a veteran defender like Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green to Doncic, then the Lakers could exploit the mismatch of size it would create, as Podziemski or Payton would be guarding much bigger players than them, like Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt.
But with LeBron James also sidelined for this game, containing Luka Doncic should be the key priority for Steve Kerr. Hence, if the cost of stopping Luka Doncic is taking the risk to get torched by any other player, then Kerr should have the confidence to take that risk.