The Warriors’ first game out of the All-Star break against the Lakers will be much less glamorous than anticipated.
LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) is listed as out for Thursday night’s Lakers-Warriors matchup in the Chase Center.
James, 39, played 14 minutes in the All-Star Game on Sunday. The Lakers are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Warriors for ninth place in the Western Conference standings.
Each of the final 29 games are crucial for the Warriors, who need to jump several teams in the standings to escape the play-in round. In the team’s first film session after the All-Star break, Warriors coach Steve Kerr displayed the West standings to remind them what’s at stake.
“I think Steve told us today that we’re 23-3 in our last 26 playoff series,” rookie guard Brandin Podziemski said. “So, we’ve got the utmost confidence that we can beat any team, no matter the seed, in a seven-game series. Once you get above that seven mark, you’re guaranteed at least four games. So we’re not really focused on seven-eight-nine-10, we’re looking at number six and number five.”
Their quest for a true playoff berth will begin with James — who’s averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his 20th season — on the sideline. Chris Paul, who’s recovering from hand surgery, will also miss the contest but is nearing a return.
Paul was a full participant in Golden State’s Wednesday practice, including 5-on-5 work, Kerr said. The veteran point guard has missed the past 18 games, but his return is on the horizon.
“He’s getting close,” Kerr said. “He’s feeling really good, he played a lot over the All-Star break, he told me. The next step is for the training staff to get a feel for where he is conditioning-wise and just making sure everything is set for him to be out there.”
Even with some much-needed rest, the Warriors will need as many bodies as they can to get through the home stretch. Their 29 games remaining is tied for the most in the league, and they open their second half with seven games in 11 days.
James’ absence to start off the run should ease the Warriors into post All-Star life, but that won’t mean it’ll be easy. Basketball Reference’s playoff probabilities report gives the Warriors an 86.4% chance at claiming a seed between seven and 10, which would put them at risk of playing do-or-die games to earn a standard playoff series.
“We’re in 10th,” Kerr said. “We’ve been on a good run, but we’ve got to carry that forward. And there’s no reason why we can’t keep winning and do what we did a year ago, which was climb up the standings and put ourselves in a favorable position for the playoffs.”
Buzzer-beaters
- The Warriors are reportedly converting Lester Quinones’ two-way contract into a standard one and backfilling the roster with former college lacrosse superstar Pat Spencer on a two-way deal, but the team hasn’t made either move official. The deadline to convert Quinones is Thursday, so both moves are likely imminent.Spencer, who starred at Loyola on the lacrosse field before transferring to Northwestern to play hoops, has been with the Warriors organization for the past two seasons. He isn’t expected to play this year because of a season-ending wrist fracture suffered on Jan. 27. Still, count rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis as a fan.“Amazing teammate,” Jackson-Davis said. “Hard, hard worker. So those are two things that you can control, and that’s what he controls very well. Having him up here as another dude that’s going to be a great teammate and show leadership, that’s going to be great.”
- According to sports business outlet Sportico, the Warriors franchise has vaulted into the second most valuable in the world, at $8.2 billion. In 2009, Steph Curry’s rookie season, the franchise was valued at an estimated $315 million.For as much credit as team owner Joe Lacob deserves for consistently spending on payroll — and he deserves a lot — the Curry Effect makes a world of difference.
- The Warriors’ decision to move Klay Thompson to the bench might not end up being permanent, but all signs point to them continuing with the Curry-Podziemski-Kuminga-Wiggins-Green starting lineup for now.“I think with the starting five, I think Brandin’s skill set is very complementary to JK and Wiggs, in particular,” Kerr said. “Rebounding, taking charges, moving the ball, cutting. It seems to unlock that group really well. The numbers show it, the eye test shows it. And so I really like this idea going forward of that starting five. We’re going to get Chris Paul back, and Chris Paul and Klay Thompson coming off the bench — that’s pretty good.”
In his first game coming off the bench, Thompson dropped 35 points in 28 minutes against the Jazz. He referenced Manu Ginobili in his postgame comments as someone who disregarded ego and embraced his bench role. Kerr added Warriors great Andre Iguodala as a model of a player who can come off the bench and make a great impact, even winning a Finals MVP.
Thompson’s move to the bench is bound to hit occasional rough spots. The future Hall of Famer rarely seems to hide his emotions, both on the court and with the media. A cold shooting night could lead to limited minutes, and he’ll have to learn how to bounce back from that mentally.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Kerr said. “Everybody’s going to have to sacrifice and understand it may not be their night that particular night. I love our guys, I love the chemistry they have together. I think we can make a really good push this way.”