Kristaps

Porziņģis

Acquired from the Hawks at the trade deadline, injuries and a lingering illness limited Porziņǵis to 15 appearances for the Warriors last season. The veteran center played just 32 games overall, averaging 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.7 three-pointers in 24.0 minutes. Porziņǵis’ contract includes a player option for the second season. While he’s certainly capable of being a highly impactful option for fantasy managers when available, injuries have been a major concern for Porziņǵis in recent seasons.

Horford declined his player option, but is staying with the Warriors on a two-year deal. Horford turned 40 earlier this month and is entering his 20th season in the NBA. He’ll be the 13th player in league history to reach 20 seasons. Horford’s return is the first move in securing Golden State’s frontline for the upcoming season. The organization is in talks to bring Kristaps Porzingis back on a short-term contract and expects Draymond Green to exercise his player option. A part-time player at this point of his career, Horford doesn’t carry much fantasy value. He averaged career-lows in points, rebounds and minutes last season.

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.