According to the Bay Area News Group’s Anthony Slater, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala will all sit on the second night of a back-to-back following Friday’s 103-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Based on head coach Steve Kerr’s comments in recent days, the move shouldn’t come as a big surprise.
Although it is a disappointment considering Saturday’s clash with the Spurs was billed as a potential Western Conference Finals preview, Kerr said after Wednesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics that he wouldn’t push his stars to play if they were tired.
“We still want the No. 1 seed,” he said, according to the Press Democrat‘s Phil Barber. “I’m not gonna run guys ragged to get it.”
Slater relayed video of Kerr’s complete comments from Wednesday night:
Some Steve Kerr postgame sound
The Warriors won’t be the only ones short-handed for the duel, though.
On Friday, the Spurs announced Kawhi Leonard will miss the meeting against Golden State after he entered the league’s concussion protocol.
Assuming the rest of San Antonio’s starters are deployed by head coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs will have a golden opportunity to move within a half-game of the West’s No. 1 seed with a month remaining in the regular season.