SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors could possibly be with out their two superstars within the crew’s first house sport in two weeks.
Steph Curry (left pelvic contusion) and Jimmy Butler (left forearm pressure) have been each listed as questionable on the early-afternoon harm report, and coach Steve Kerr declined to say whether or not they would play on Friday night time towards visiting Denver.
“I’m hopeful that they’ll play, but we’ll wait and see,” Kerr stated.
Golden State beat the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday earlier than making the fast journey again to the Bay Space for the second sport of the crew’s penultimate back-to-back of the season.
The Warriors (45-31) are the fifth seed within the Western Convention, a half-game in entrance of sixth-seeded Memphis (45-32) and the No. 7 seed Minnesota (45-32) within the standings. Denver (47-30) is the third seed.
Curry has been nursing a bruised tailbone since a tough fall throughout the Warriors’ victory over Toronto on March 20, the crew’s final house sport.
He missed the primary two video games of the lately accomplished journey, each losses, earlier than taking part in within the final 4 street victories whereas sporting a chunk of protecting tools.
In Thursday’s 123-116 victory over Los Angeles, Curry hit the ground laborious on a number of drives however completed the sport. He scored 37 factors.
Butler left the Warriors bench within the third quarter whereas coping with his harm, however he too returned and closed out the Warriors’ victory that stored the crew out of the play-in spot.
Butler advised media after the sport that he may get testing on his forearm, however Kerr stated he didn’t know if Butler had undergone testing.
Gary Payton II, who has missed the final 4 video games with a left thumb harm, can also be questionable.
The Warriors discover themselves in the identical scenario Denver did when the groups final performed at Chase Heart on March 17.
MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and star guard Jamal Murray each sat out that sport, however Archbishop Mitty alum Aaron Gordon scored 38 factors to guide Denver to a stunning 114-105 victory and snapped Golden State’s seven-game profitable streak.
Kerr has excessive reward for Jokic
Kerr didn’t mince phrases when describing Jokic’s dominance a couple of hours earlier than the Warriors performed the middle who’s averaging a 29.7-point triple-double on sterling effectivity.
“It’s unfair to compare eras, but he’s the best center I’ve ever seen,” Kerr stated. “I mean again, I played against Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), so I’m kind of old, maybe one year I played against him, but I watched him, obviously, and Kareem couldn’t do all this stuff.”
Nuggets coach Mike Malone didn’t refute Kerr’s evaluation.
“Steve Kerr played the game a long time, and he’s been around a lot of winning basketball as a player and as a coach,” Malone stated. “So obviously, Steve has great experiences to draw from, and as an older who has seen a lot of things.”
