The 18-16 Golden State Warriors appear to be audibling prior to a Friday clash against the Western Conference’s current No. 1 seed, the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder (29-5).
Per Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of ESPN, future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green will all be sat for the game.
Curry will sit out with a sprained left ankle, as has been previously expected.
Green is being rested, while Butler has an undisclosed illness. Those three stars are hardly the only absences for the Warriors, who seem to be tanking the game pre-emptively.
That Thunder matchup represents the first in a back-to-back slate. On Saturday, Golden State will play the notably weaker Utah Jazz. The Lauri Markkanen-led squad is 16.5 games behind the Thunder at 12-21 on the year, good for the West’s No. 12 seed.
The Warriors have a pretty full schedule, as they’ll be playing five games in the next seven days. This certainly feels like a calculated move, as Golden State will let its younger pieces put up their best fight against Oklahoma City while the team rests its three priciest players.
Stephen Curry’s sharpshooting little brother Seth is out with left sciatic nerve irritation. Two-way signings LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons are both putting in reps with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League affiliate.
Backup Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton is shelved with left knee injury management. 39-year-old bench big Al Horford is probable to play through his own right sciatic nerve irritation. As a five-time All-Star, two-time NCAA champion and one-time NBA champion, Horford has a shot at Springfield himself.
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Curry has looked like his typical 11-time All-NBA self this season. Butler, too, has been a steadying two-way presence, averaging 19.7 points on .516/.410/.863 shooting splits, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per. Green has regressed a bit from his 10-time All-Defensive Team prime.
But the biggest issue for the Warriors this season has been their lack of reliable interior size. Horford has slipped even from his years as a backup with the Boston Celtics, while second-year floor-spacing center Quinten Post lacks the necessary physical tools to hang with the West’s bigs. It’s clear that Golden State needs to add some help down low, as the 35-year-old, 6-foot-6 Green cannot play small ball center against, say, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, or Alperen Sengun for a full 48-minute game.
Newsweek