The Golden State Warriors will be out to end their five-game road-trip on a positive note when they visit Barclays Center to face the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
After an impressive win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the Warriors have a 3-1 road-trip to date which has seen them surge into the top six in the Western Conference standings.
The Warriors will remain without Jonathan Kuminga on Thursday
Golden State are now 9-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup, yet the 6x All-Star still hasn't had the opportunity to play alongside talented forward Jonathan Kuminga who has remained out with a significant ankle injury.
The timeline on Kuminga's return continues to be pushed back. After injurying himself against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 4, there was a thought that the 22-year-old could return either side of the trade deadline. That then turned into after the All-Star break, and then to this current five-game road-trip.
Now and hopefully finally, there's optimism Kuminga will return on the upcoming seven-game home-stand that commences with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons at Chase Center on Saturday.
Yet given the delayed nature of this timeline, it's getting to a point where we can't expect much until a return date is actually confirmed. Steve Kerr still didn't provide that in an interview with 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs on Wednesday, but did move to ease any concerns that Kuminga had suffered a setback in his recovery.
"No setback. (Kuminga's) injury itself was more serious than anybody realized...It does feel like he's getting close," Kerr said.
The Warriors have again ruled Kuminga out for Thursday's game against the Nets, marking his 29th-straight absence in what's becoming a very considerable period of time out of the lineup. Fortunately Golden State have not only weathered the storm, but thrived since acquiring Butler before the trade deadline.
While Kuminga remains out, the Warriors could regain Gary Payton II who missed Tuesday's game against the Knicks. The defensive-minded guard collided heads with LaMelo Ball on Monday against the Hornets, leaving the game in the third-quarter and not returning in what was later determined as a nasal fracture. Payton is probable to face the Nets.
Noah Clowney is out for Brooklyn, but their injury report is otherwise clean except for De'Anthony Melton who suffered his ACL tear while with Golden State early in the season. While the Nets have made moves to try and tank this season, they're just 2.5 games back from the Play-In Tournament at 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets' 21-40 record means the Warriors will enter as heavy favorites, with a potential opportunity to draw even closer to the fifth-seed Houston Rockets.