The Golden State Warriors head into their final preseason game with the big picture still a little blurry and the top of the roster still being handled with care. After Steve Kerr pushed minutes for key players in the previous outing, the expectation tonight is simple: don’t look for much of the main rotation against the Portland Trail Blazers. Health is the priority, especially for a team that already looks stretched thin before the regular season even begins.
That leaves Friday’s game at 7pm PDT on NBCSBA as a chance to watch the players fighting for real minutes rather than the stars. And for this group, that matters. The preseason has offered a few encouraging flashes, but it has also made one thing plain: this team has work to do.
The Warriors are already dealing with major absences. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are expected to be out through the new year, while Kristaps Porzingis remains out indefinitely. That’s a brutal setup for a roster that is trying to piece together enough dependable bodies to survive the grind ahead.
Stephen Curry can still take over a game on any night, but even that kind of greatness only goes so far. Draymond Green is still capable of making a real impact, yet the wear and tear seems harder to ignore.
There isn’t much of a cushion here. This season does not come with a safety net.
Porzingis addressed his situation earlier this week, and his own words made clear that he is still in the middle of trying to get his health right.
“Hello people, I’m working with doctors and experts to figure out how to be fully back to good health asap. Honestly, I’m getting better and better. I just have to stay patient, and I believe I’ll be feeling great again soon,” he wrote.
“It has definitely been frustrating dealing with some health stuff that you can’t exactly pinpoint, on top of injuries throughout my career, so it has added up for sure, but we will get through it. Health is wealth. Thank you for all the support.”
The team’s update didn’t offer much more clarity.
“An update on his status, including the potential resumption of practice, playing status or timeline, will be provided when available and appropriate,” the team said in a statement.
At 31, Porzingis should be in the middle of his prime, but the uncertainty around his availability hangs over everything. The silver lining, if there is one, is that the issue he’s dealing with is not expected to limit him physically once he does return. And while his two-year, $40 million deal looks substantial, next season is only lightly guaranteed, which gives Golden State some room if it eventually needs to pivot.
Tonight’s matchup also puts a spotlight on the big-man picture behind the scenes. The Warriors moved on from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post over the offseason.
Neither had fully locked down a rotation spot, but both gave the team real value during the long haul of last season. Now Al Horford stands as the best center option outside of Green, and he’s 40 with his own durability questions.
If Horford is again working under a minutes restriction and sitting out back-to-backs, the Warriors are staring at a difficult setup in the middle.
Brandin Podziemski will be asked to help cover some of that ground, while De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton, and Brandon Williams will be part of the guard rotation. The Warriors are also encouraged by what they’ve seen from Yaxel Lendeborg, and Gui Santos looks like he could be headed for a breakout season. Even so, the center spot remains the clearest source of stress, unless Charles Bassey makes a significant jump.
That’s the shape of this team right now: tenuous, but not dead on arrival. Golden State is not chasing the sky anymore.
The goal is simpler than that. Stay in the mix.
Hang around. Make enough things go right to matter.
So this last preseason game is less about name value and more about survival skills. It’s about who can give Kerr something useful at the end of the bench. It’s about whether the Warriors can find a few scrappy, unexpected contributions from players who may end up mattering more than anyone thought.
And if Bassey plays well, and Brandon Williams and Will Richards get real run, that’s probably the kind of preview Golden State needs before the season starts for real.
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