The Golden State Warriors will welcome the return of young guard Brandin Podziemski for Thursday night's matchup with the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center.
Podziemski had missed the last 12 games due to an abdominal injury, but will now provide a major boost to a Warrior team looking to respond from Wednesday night's 123-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Brandin Podziemski's return will strengthen the Warriors rotation
Golden State have been dealing with significant injury troubles over recent weeks, forcing head coach Steve Kerr into some surprising rotation decisions. That included closing Wednesday's tight loss with rookie center Quinten Post and second-year forward Gui Santos on the floor, something that was warranted by their play throughout the game but still indicative of Golden State's depleted rotation right now.
Even with Podziemski's return, the Warriors still have a significant injury report leading into their first game against the Bulls this season. Forwards Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Kyle Anderson all remain out, while Stephen Curry, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Lindy Waters III are all questionable. Moses Moody and Gary Payton II are both listed as probable, but Kevon Looney is not on the injury report despite sitting out the second-half of Thursday's game due to illness.
Podziemski's return could be even more important if Curry and/or Payton are ruled out from facing the Bulls, but it's not yet known what sort of minutes restriction the 21-year-old will be on after the first significant injury of his NBA career.
After being a hot topic in regard to trade conversations during the offseason, Podziemski had a disappointing start to the season relative to his own and the team's lofty expectations. He's currently averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season on 29.5% 3-point shooting -- all numbers that are down from a rookie season that earned him All-Rookie First Team honors.
However, Podziemski's numbers and efficiency were trending up prior to his injury, only making his recent absence all the more disappointing. The former 19th overall pick had made 48.3% (14-of-29) of his 3-point attempts in the previous nine games prior to injury.
His absence had gone slightly under the radar given much of the attention was focused on fellow young player Jonathan Kuminga who had been averaging nearly 25 points and eight rebounds prior to his severe ankle sprain.
Podziemski and the Warriors will be hoping to return back to a .500 record when they tip-off against the Bulls at 7PM PT.