Kristaps

Porziņģis

Porziņġis had been upgraded from questionable to available, marking good news for the Warriors. The veteran center posted a 20/5/5/1/2 line against the Clippers in the team’s Play-In Tournament win on Wednesday and will have a good chance to land strong production on Friday.

One day removed from playing 28 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, Porziņǵis is on the injury report due to a sore left ankle. If he’s unable to play on Friday, the Warriors may turn to Al Horford, who logged 22 minutes on Wednesday. That would mean more minutes for Gary Payton II as well, even though he does not share a position with Porziņǵis or Horford.

Porziņģis entered the postseason having shot below 40 percent in three straight games. However, he was able to post his best field goal percentage as a Warrior in this game, which contributed to them surviving the 9/10 play-in game. They’ll need Porziņģis at his best in Friday’s game against the Suns to have a chance to advance to the playoffs. Porziņģis’ availability has been limited this season, but when he’s been on the floor, his impact has been clear.

Kerr made the comments following Sunday’s regular-season finale, a loss to the Clippers in the first of two meetings between the teams over four days. None will surpass 40 minutes, but the question is how far beyond 30 minutes the veterans will go. Curry’s 29 minutes on Sunday were the most for him since returning from a case of runner’s knee, and Porziņǵis has logged 29 minutes just twice since joining the Warriors. As for Horford, he has exceeded 30 minutes just twice this season, most recently March 10 against the Bulls.

After logging 26 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Kings, Porziņǵis played 24 minutes on Sunday. The lingering question going into the Play-In Tournament is how much the 7-foot-2 center can play, especially with the Warriors needing two wins to reach the playoffs. Draymond Green (back) was not available on Sunday; getting him back for Wednesday’s rematch with the Clippers will clearly help matters in the frontcourt. But in Porziņǵis and Al Horford (5/4/2 in 19 minutes), the Warriors have two veteran post players whose minutes have been limited for most of the season.

Porziņģis will be back after missing Golden State’s last two games. He’ll occupy the starting center spot, which will push Jeenathan Williams to the bench after he played 35 minutes as a starter on Thursday. Charles Bassey will also play a significantly smaller role after recording a double-double in 30 minutes against the Lakers.

With Charles Bassey also expected to play, the Dubs may have a healthy big-man rotation for the first time in many games. Expect the trio to split minutes without one player seeing significantly more run than the others.

Porzingis will miss a second straight game as he continues to battle through an illness. Porzingis has missed a lot of the regular season dealing with injuries; he’s averaging 17.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Curry is out for Thursday’s game against the Lakers, and the expectation of many was that he’d miss one of the Warriors’ next two games. Kerr confirmed as much with his pregame comments on Thursday, saying that he expects Curry to play in Sacramento. There’s also hope that Kristaps Porziņǵis (illness) will play against the Kings.

After missing Tuesday’s game due to a knee injury, Porziņǵis will not play on Thursday because of an illness. Given what he’s dealt with since last spring, the illness is a concern. As for Horford, he has been out since March 13. The Warriors have called on the likes of Malevy Leons and Charles Bassey in recent games to fill the void in the frontcourt.