Getty Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
After turning things around for a solid stretch, the Golden State Warriors have now lost two games in a row and find themselves back down to .500 on the season. And if that weren’t tough enough, their next contest is against the Boston Celtics, who hold the best record in the NBA.
The two teams squared off in last year’s NBA Finals, with the Warriors getting the last laugh, but these are now two very different teams. However, neither team will be fully healthy heading into the game.
“Celtics will be without Al Horford and Robert Williams tomorrow vs Warriors, despite buzz about Williams’ nearing return,” reported Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Both listed as out. Warriors without Andrew Wiggins. That leaves an important role for Jonathan Kuminga as a wing defender against Tatum/Brown.”
Wiggins has missed each of the Warriors’ last two games (both losses) and has proven to be a necessary commodity for them this year. He’s appeared in 22 of the team’s 26 games, playing 32.8 minutes per contest. Golden State is 0-4 in games he’s missed. Wiggins is averaging 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists on 51.1% shooting from the field and 45.0% shooting from behind the three-point line.
As for Boston’s absentees, Horford has been an integral part of Boston’s success this season. He’s not playing in back-to-backs, but he’ll be missing the game against Golden State due to health and safety protocols. The big man is averaging 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 53.7% shooting from the field and 46.6% shooting from deep.
Williams has yet to appear in a game this season as he continues to recover from offseason surgery, but there was some chatter that he could potentially be ready for the game against the Warriors. He’s now considered day-to-day but will miss Saturday’s contest.
Warriors Star Reveals Future With Team
While Wiggins, Horford, and Williams won’t be available for the team’s next game, Stephen Curry will be. And according to the man himself, he plans on sticking around in the NBA for a while.
“I talked to Tom Brady at one point about he’s, you know, at the point in his career where he’s still playing at a high level at, what, 44 or whatever it is. And his example and his advice was just to take it a year at a time,” Curry explained. “There’s no way to fast forward. It’s not how you got to this point, so don’t rush yourself and think about how long you can do it. Your body will tell you, and I don’t see myself slowing down anytime soon.”
Curry is already 34 years old, but if he’s still feeling like himself, then there’s no reason he needs to hang up the sneakers.
Star Reveals All-Time Starting 5
Speaking of Curry, he recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated. He revealed what his all-time starting five would look like if he had to be included.
“I’m at PG,” Curry began. “I’m going with Magic [Johnson] – we’ll play hybrid guards. You got [Michael] Jordan. You got Dirk [Nowitzki] spacing the floor, shooting the ball. And you got the big man, the Diesel [Shaquille O’Neal], holding it down. So, that’s a solid lineup, I think.”
