The Golden State Warriors pulled off arguably their biggest feel-good win of the season last night with a gutsy victory over the Phoenix Suns. Point guard Pat Spencer filled in for an injured Stephen Curry and had a career night, putting up a career-high 20 points while making six of 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
It was an unsurprising performance from a guy who has come up with the goods time and time again when his number has been called. With Stephen Curry dealing with an ongoing knee concern, the Warriors are going to need to lean more on Spencer rather than grind the 2x MVP into the ground for little benefit.
Warriors have to manage Stephen Curry over remainder of the season
The Warriors find themselves in a weird spot right now. They are still alive in the Play-In hunt and last night's game was a reminder that Golden State can still beat good teams like the Suns.
Of course, Phoenix was undermanned as well with Devin Booker on the bench, but the Warriors fought and orchestrated a late comeback that would not have been possible without Spencer getting hot earlier in the game.
Golden State's trade deadline moves have opened the door for Spencer to be converted from his two-way contract to a standard NBA contract which would obviously be a huge deal, even if the 29-year-old downplayed it after the game.
Obviously, having Curry on the court is essential for the Warriors if they are to have even a glimmer of a chance in a Play-In contest, and if they want to make a team nervous in a first-round playoff matchup.
But even though the team added Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline, it still seems highly unlikely that Golden State have enough oomph to make any sort of legitimate run. Therefore, what's the point in playing Curry through pain as the season progresses?
The Warriors have to be keeping an eye on next season, even while they try to win and compete as hard as they can right now. That means head coach Steve Kerr needs to think long and hard about Curry's usage and playing time over the remainder of the season.
The 37-year-old star has been banged up a lot, and the Warriors cannot afford to run him into the ground and potentially cause a major injury which could subsequently impact the team's chance to be competitive next season.
Kerr should lean more on Spencer as the season goes on. Giving Curry more rest and preventing him from exhausting himself is the wisest strategy when the ceiling for this Warriors team seems to be a first-round playoff exit.
A competitor like Curry won't like it, but Kerr has to be smart with his star and be responsible with the team's future, meaning we need to see more of Spencer across the rest of the season.