The Golden State Warriors will be hoping to continue their momentum and create further separation from the Sacramento Kings when the two pacific rivals meet at Chase Center on Thursday night.
There is currently 3.5 games between the two teams in the Western Conference standings, with a Warrior victory on Thursday further ensuring that they would get two Play-In Tournament opportunities at the very least.
Golden State certainly have their expectations raised far beyond that though, having won 12 of their past 14 games including five-straight as they've surged to the sixth-seed in the standings.
Warriors deliver mixed injury news ahead of Kings matchup
Optimism surrounding the Warriors has only grown over the past 24 hours, with talented young forward Jonathan Kuminga firming to play his first game since a severe ankle sprain against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 4.
After missing 31-straight games, Kuminga is officially listed as probable for Thursday's matchup with the Kings. The 22-year-old's return figures as the final piece to the Warrior rotation, with much anticipation surrounding how he will fit in alongside newly-acquired star Jimmy Butler and even impressive rookie center Quinten Post.
Kuminga was in the best form of his career prior to the untimely injury, having led Golden State in scoring at 24.3 points on 52.7% shooting while adding 8.0 rebounds in his last six full games.
The news isn't so good for fellow youngster Brandin Podziemski, with the second-year guard once again ruled out due to a back strain. It will be the third-straight game Podziemski has missed with the injury, having left last Thursday's game against the Brooklyn Nets less than a minute after opening tip.
Assuming Kuminga returns, Steve Kerr will have a full rotation to choose from outside of Podziemski. That will leave plenty of fascination on what lineups and rotation patterns we could see, particularly given Kuminga hasn't played with Butler nor Post.
Kerr has gone big in starting Post in Podziemski's absence over the last two games, but that could change depending on the injury status of Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis. The 28-year-old has missed the past five games due to a hamstring strain, with Sacramento having lost three of their past four as a result.
The Warriors and Kings have already met at Chase Center coming out of the All-Star break, with the hosts easily coming away with a 132-108 victory. Moses Moody and Buddy Hield led the way as two of four 20-point scorers for the Warriors in that game, but there will be more intrigue this time around purely through the fact of Kuminga's return.