The Golden State Warriors have officially listed center Kristaps Porzingis as out for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks with lower back tightness. So Porzingis will not face the team that traded him just over a month ago. Jonathan Kuminga, on the other hand, will play after sitting out the Hawks game on Friday.
Porzingis left the Dubs 115-101 loss to the Pistons on Friday night in the second quarter after visibly reaching for his back. He told reporters after the game that it was a mild back spasm
and he did not expect it to be a major issue. However, he was skeptical that he would play the second half of the Warriors back-to-back. Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Quinten Post all remain questionable to play.
The timing of Porzingis’ injury is particularly frustrating for the Warriors. Porzingis’ struggles with chronic illness held him out of 10 of Golden State’s first 11 games after he was acquired via trade in February. However, he had appeared in six of the Warriors last eight games as of yesterday. As the Dubs try to build some momentum leading into the play-in tournament, Porzingis finding a rhythm remains critical for the Warriors to have any puncher’s chance. Not that Dub Nation has high expectations left for the team this season.
Porzingis has appeared in just 24 games this season, 17 with the Hawks and seven with the Warriors. He is averaging 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game on 44.6%/33.9%/82.8% shooting. He will hope to return to the Dubs rotation on Monday when the Warriors face the Mavericks.
