Preview: Warriors get a new wrinkle

it's a brand new "what if" as Golden State's newest player adds a new dimension

The Golden State Warriors didn’t win, but they got their new weapon online as Kristaps Porzingis returned to action. Sure, there was an issue or two, and plenty of room for improvement, but it’s another weapon for coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors to play with as they continue to tinker with a roster that is far from the initial design.

But nights like these tend to highlight the fact that the Warriors may well be far from the heights of their power, but this isn’t a team that’s rebuilding or tanking like the Utah Jazz. But this is the flip side of the “we got a chance, guys!” coin - as it’s likely that the Jazz players are looking at this matchup as one of the ones they could potentially extract a win from.

In classic fashion for this season, Porzingis has immediately been ruled out - what the team is calling “illness management.” I’m sure it’s fine. Notably, this is the front end of a back-to-back, so it isn’t overly surprising that the Warriors are being cautious after Porzingis missed so much time.

Warriors’ current plan is to rest Kristaps Porzingis on Monday night in Utah and play him on Tuesday at home against the Bulls. He stretched to 23 minutes tonight and told Kerr postgame he felt fine.

-Anthony Slater

More broadly, Golden State is super banged up. In addition to Porzingis, no Moody or Horford tonight.

@DaltonJ_Johnson

Seth Curry is listed as probable to play his first game for the Warriors since Dec. 4 tomorrow night in Utah. Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Moses Moody are all OUT, and Will Richard is questionable

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (32-31) at Utah Jazz (19-45)

WHEN: Monday, March 9th 2026; 6pm PDT

WATCH: NBCSBA

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Injury rotation keeps ‘em guessing

It’s impossible to predict how this all works out, but when Porzingis plays, it’s clear to see why the Warriors were willing to take such a gamble. It’s also pretty easy to see why a player so unique that his nickname is The Unicorn was even available in the first place. Where the Warriors go from here is an easy question: forward. Boldy. They’re going to do this cautiously, but Porzingis is going to be given the opportunity to become someone that this team leans on.

This isn’t going to matter tonight, he’s out. But it’s going to become a growing theme - assuming this return is real. The Warriors know now that they’ve found a young cadre of players that is at least capable - maybe more than that it some cases. The NBA is a weird league, the best player on the floor tends to decide these things, but in a team environment, there really can be a synergy where the sum results exceed what you’d think could happen given the individual players. Some teams just gel.

The Warriors are still sorely lacking their top end talent, but they’ve found a deep grit which has served them well. With Moody and Horford out tonight, the margins are even thinner but these guys have proven that nothing’s impossible.

Prediction

Sure. Why not?