
The Golden State Warriors are essentially locked into the 10th seed in the Western Conference with less than a week to go in the NBA regular season.
However, they still need a few things before they head into the Play-In Tournament. Namely, that consists of getting players healthy and allowing players to develop chemistry, especially between those like Steph Curry and Kristaps Porzingis, who haven't played more than 10 minutes together because of various injuries.
On Tuesday night, though Porzingis wasn't able to play due to right knee soreness, Curry was able to earn game conditioning and an overall sense of reintegration when the Warriors hosted the Sacramento Kings.
Although it ended up being a much closer game than it should have been against a tanking Kings team, the Warriors had enough in the tank to come away with a 110-105 win, as 7 of the 9 players that saw the court scored at least 9 points.
Steve Kerr Lays Out Warriors' Focus Moving Forward
After the win, Steve Kerr gave a straightforward answer when asked if the Warriors would be focusing on their health or building rhythm in the final three games of the season.
"We just prioritize health. Rhythm comes after that. So we'll do whatever we have to do to be healthy, and we'll hope to find some rhythm."
Out of the Warriors' last three games, they'll play their last home game on Thursday against the Lakers, then head up the I-80 to Sacramento less than 24 hours later to play the Kings again before taking the hour-long flight down to Los Angeles to play the Clippers in the season finale on Sunday.
Kerr's words here make it extremely likely that Curry will only play one game of the back-to-back against the Lakers and Kings, and guys like Porzingis, Gui Santos, Al Horford, and more could have extra precautions for their injuries, instead of rushing back to get some game action under their belt before the Play-In.
Warriors Spread The Wealth Offensively
Curry stole much of the attention on Sunday night with his stellar 29-point performance in his first game back from injury against the Houston Rockets, but his play on Tuesday was a bit more subdued.
In 25 minutes, the two-time MVP had 17 points, going 4-11 from beyond the arc and making his lone two-point attempt. He continued to be the highlight generator he's always been, cashing in not one, but two four-point plays, and looked solid out there in his second game back from injury.
Curry ended up clocking as the third-leading scorer, as De'Anthony Melton led the way with a 21-point performance that included a 12-point second quarter, and Brandin Podziemski followed close behind with 20 points of his own.
However, the player who perhaps played the best of any Warrior on Tuesday was none other than Charles Bassey. The big man had been with the Santa Cruz Warriors for much of the season, and after his 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics expired earlier this week, the Warriors brought him right back to the Bay.
Bassey was good on Sunday, posting 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 10 minutes, but he took a massive leap against the Kings. Bassey played 27 minutes and finished the game with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double to accompany 2 blocks and 2 steals.
The opportunity presented itself with Porzingis, Al Horford, and Quinten Post all out with one injury or another, and Bassey made sure to make the most of it.


