Head coach Steve Kerr has considered resting point guard Stephen Curry in order to preserve the wear and tear on Curry, both mentally and physically. However, the rest that the Golden State Warriors would like to get as they head down the home stretch might not be so easy to come by.
As things currently stand, the Warriors sit at 63-7. However, the San Antonio Spurs are right behind them at 59-11. Two more meetings remain between the two elite teams, and that means that the Spurs can steal two head-to-head wins, as well as the season series, right out from under Golden State’s nose.
From Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo! Sports:
Here’s the thing: The Warriors can’t afford to rest Curry. Not yet, anyway. Golden State caught a break on Monday, escaping Minnesota with a win while San Antonio absorbed a defeat in Charlotte. The gap between the Warriors and Spurs has swelled back to four games now, a comfortable gap but one Golden State knows is far from insurmountable. Indeed, when told San Antonio had lost, Green sniffed and said, “That means nothing.”
The fact that the Warriors are four games up on the Spurs for first place in the Western Conference lends itself to the idea that rest won’t come when the team wants it to. Golden State would love to start resting players here and there down the stretch of the season, but San Antonio being so close makes that a near impossibility.
In a way, you have to respect just how good the Spurs have been this season, but the Warriors have been better and do need their rest. Finding the rest for guys is crucial, and that’s even with the Spurs being so close. It would not be a shock to see some players get rested for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Just to get them some kind of breather.