標籤: encourages

SAN FRANCISCO — With hopes rising that the Golden State Warriors could get to the trade deadline for Kristaps Porzingis’ return after extended time off following the All-Star break, Steve Kerr provided an encouraging injury update for the big man.

“Kristaps has been here for the last few days and practiced with the team today,” Kerr said. This is an improvement from the previous update in which he was working 5-on-5 in the halfcourt.

“Feels good. He feels good. We won’t make any decisions until tomorrow when we practice tomorrow afternoon. We’ll get up and down the floor and scrimmage, which we didn’t do today.”

As for Stephen Curry, who has missed the last five games due to patellofemoral pain syndrome in his knee, Kerr didn’t have much of an update on the star point guard after the team gave him and the Giants an extra day off.

The Warriors essentially took him out of the last two games before the break and the All-Star break to give him as much time as possible to get his runner’s knee under control. The idea is to keep him and Porzingis as healthy as possible for the 27-game sprint that awaits them as the eighth seed and out of the play-in tournament.

They have succeeded in the first part of the plan. Porzingis spent the break rehabbing with the team, while Curry stayed off his feet — except for one crazy trick shot over All-Star weekend in LA. Now comes an evaluation of his progress, as they look to bring him back for a home-run.

“That’s the hope,” Kerr admitted. “But again, we’ll have to—we haven’t seen Steph yet, and Kristaps needs to participate in a scrimmage first. We’ll just see how it goes tomorrow.”

What the Warriors envision for Kristaps Porzingis

As many have pointed out in the wake of the Porzingis acquisition, his size, defense and shooting fit the kind of player the Warriors have been looking for for years. Obviously, that vision requires Porzingis’ rollercoaster medical history to remain stable, but that doesn’t dampen Kerr or the Warriors’ excitement about what he can do for them.

Kerr has said that he would not have traded Porzingis if he had not been confident in his health. And while much of that confidence lies in the highly praised Rick Celebrini and his top medical staff, the Warriors feel confident on the outside with what Porzingis brings to the table.

“He’s fit in easily,” Kerr told reporters Wednesday evening after his first practice since the break. “You don’t have to change a lot. You know, the biggest difference, I think, is his post-up delivery. He’s a very good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, elbows, even low blocks.”

With Porzingis out, the Warriors are looking for a Band-Aid for a Jimmy Butler-sized hole in their offense. Kerr noted that the spacing created by Porzingis will be different than that offered by Butler, but he is excited for his ability to play within his trademark split-action.

“I’m actually more excited about his splits than having someone else have the ball,” Kerr said. “When we throw him the ball in the post, we ask him to score a lot, but he’s such a dynamic player that you can also run pin downs for him. He can shoot it on the move. He doesn’t just pick and pop … so he should fit in pretty seamlessly with everything we do.”