After the Golden State Warriors took a rough 111-107 loss against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a chance that some of their stars wouldn't play the day after against the Houston Rockets. After the game, Steve Kerr called out the NBA for scheduling them for a late game and then having them play the next night.
Well, it looks like the stars will be playing on the back-to-back according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater, as the Warriors are trying to gain ground on the Western Conference.
“Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all cleared to play for the Warriors tonight in Houston on the second night of a back-to-back. Same available rotation as last night. Tari Eason, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith out for Rockets,” Slater wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Warriors have been cautious all season with how much they play their veterans, but with the recent addition of Butler and them trying to make a run, every game matters from here. It would work well in their favor if they could go into the All-Star break with a win.
Stephen Curry to play on Warriors' back-to-back
After their loss against the Mavericks on the first game of a back-to-back, Steve Kerr was asked if his veterans would play against the Rockets.
I don't know, we'll talk to Rick after,” Steve Kerr said via The Athletic's Anthony Slater. “Tough back-to-back, and you know, that's what makes this loss even more frustrating, is that we're gonna get into Houston at 3 o'clock whatever it is because the NBA, in its infinite wisdom, makes us play an 8:45 game, and they clearly don't care about rest or better health. It's just ratings and all that stuff, so I get it. The whole league's gotta do it, and so it is what it is, we gotta strap it up and get ready for tomorrow.”
The NBA has always been about putting the best game on television, but that also could come at the cost of the players and how much they're playing. In the Warriors' instance, they played a game that ended late in the night, and then they'll be getting to the next city early in the morning.
In that scenario, you want the players to get rest, but they also have to try and prepare for the game later that evening. Hopefully, the league pays attention to this and they're able to make changes to those types of situations in the future.
