The Golden State Warriors will enter Wednesday's Play-In game against the L.A. Clippers with a distinct lack of recent rhythm, confidence and chemistry, meaning now more than ever they'll need to bank on those elements that have been built in the past.
That includes leaning on the familiar dynamic between Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford that was generated at the Boston Celtics, with Steve Kerr and the Warriors already signalling that as a potential part of Wednesday's game.
Warriors may lean on Kristaps Porzingis-Al Horford duo in Play-In game
As championship teammates in Boston over the previous two seasons, Porzingis and Horford played plenty together in double-big lineups that maintained spacing thanks to the veteran pair's ability to stretch the floor.
Perhaps reigniting the combination was part of Kerr's decision to start Horford and Porzingis together against the Clippers on Sunday. Sure, there was an opportunity there stemming from Draymond Green being rested, but it would have been easy just to remain with Gui Santos in the starting lineup given his prominent role and improvement in recent months.
The Warriors did fall to a 115-110 defeat in Sunday's game, but the Porzingis-Horford combination did have a 13.0 net rating. That's coincidentally the same net rating they had during their 587 minutes sharing the floor in Boston's 2023-24 championship season, while they had a 10.0 net rating in their 420 minutes with the Celtics last season.
Speaking to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday, Porzingis outlined how playing alongside Horford benefits him in another indication of the two seeing minutes together in the Play-In.
“Al’s super experienced. He helps me a lot, I always learn from him. He’s the ultimate professional, so to have him out there next to me – both of us can shoot – it only helps," Porzingis said.
Stephen Curry-Draymond Green history will be massive on Wednesday
While Stephen Curry may have only just returned from a 27-game absence due to a knee injury, there's no more familiar dynamic and two-man chemistry in the league than the one he possesses with Draymond Green.
Expect Kerr and Golden State to lean heavily on that again, including the potential of the pair playing exclusively together given neither are expected to play more than 35 minutes despite the do-or-die nature of the situation.
With such an uncertain rotation recently thanks to their spate of injuries in recent months, the Warriors have little choice but to hope the historical chemistry built by Curry and Green, and Porzingis and Horford, will be enough to prove victorious.
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