Through the Golden State Warriors’ recent stretch of games, Steve Kerr has featured a lineup without a traditional center.
Following a contest against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 2, James Wiseman was sidelined with a sprained wrist injury. The next game, Kevon Looney suffered a sprained ankle against the Boston Celtics. After missing the last 10 games, the pair of bigs could be on their way back to Golden State’s lineup. Wiseman and Looney are listed as questionable for Golden State’s upcoming trip to Madison Square Garden.
In a video conference on Monday, Kerr told reporters both players practiced in full, and “the hope” is Wiseman and Looney will play against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
They both practiced fully. We’ll see how they respond tomorrow before we make a declaration. The hope is that they’ll play tomorrow, but we won’t know till tomorrow morning.
Listen to Kerr’s full video conference via Warriors SoundCloud.
Although he will have to tweak his small-ball lineup, Kerr expects both players to get playing time if they’re available against the Knicks.
During his rookie season, Wiseman is averaging 12.2 points on 50.3% shooting from the field with 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21 minutes per game.
Prior to his sprained ankle, Looney moved into the starting lineup, averaging 3.7 points on 62.3% shooting from the field with 4.1 boards and 1.8 assists in 14.7 minutes per contest.
While Draymond Green, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Eric Paschall have provided a solid effort in Golden State’s thin frontcourt, the return of Wiseman and Looney should contribute a much-needed boost to Kerr’s rotation.
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