Forgotten big man, young star pop up on Warriors injury report vs. Hornets
The Golden State Warriors will look to add to their two-game winning-streak on Friday when they vist Charlotte to face the Hornets at Spectrum Center.
Both teams are on different ends of the spectrum -- the Warriors have it all to play for as they desperately try to hold onto a Play-In Tournament spot, while the Hornets' season has been over for some weeks as they appear stapled to the 13th-spot in the Eastern Conference.
Coming off back-to-back wins on the road, the Golden State Warriors will hope to add to the momentum in Charlotte on Friday
Golden State will enter relatively healthy, although Jonathan Kuminga is again on the injury report as the third-year forward battles knee soreness that saw him miss Wednesday's win over the Orlando Magic.
More curiously, veteran big man Dario Saric is also questionable with knee soreness having not played over the last four games. Despite Kuminga's absence and Draymond Green having been ejected less than four minutes into the game, Saric still didn't see playing time on Wednesday with young forward Gui Santos even being preferred over the Croatian.
After being a staple of Steve Kerr's rotation earlier in the season, Saric has played just over 20 total minutes in the last dozen games. The 29-year-old has averaged 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season, but it was his lacklustre defense that forced Kerr's hand in removing him from the rotation.
The Warriors' first and only previous meeting with the Hornets this season saw a wildly inefficient first-half from both at Chase Center. Golden State took a 43-29 lead after 24 minutes, eventually winning 97-84 in an uninspiring yet comfortable victory.
Charlotte are coming off a surprise 118-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, with second overall pick Brandon Miller leading the way with 31 points as one of seven players who scored in double figures.
Star point-guard LaMelo Ball remains out and will be for the remainder of the season, while Seth Curry, Cody Martin and Mark Williams are also out. Davis Bertans -- who was traded to the Hornets before the February deadline -- is probable with a nose fracture.
The Warriors remain one game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the tenth-seed, with the latter also playing on Friday against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center.
manual
Every win matters down the stretch for Golden State and you can win big if you can predict just one of them at FanDuel! All you have to do is sign up, deposit $10 or more and then bet $5 or more on any team to win. If your team wins, you'll get $200 in bonus bets! Sign up with FanDuel with this link today!