Thunder-Warriors Game Statuses Revealed for Steph Curry, Butler, Green, Melton

The Golden State Warriors (18-16) will be without their Big Three on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder (29-5).

Stephen Curry tweaked his ankle in the last minute of Wednesday's win over the Hornets. He did finish the game, but the ankle clearly isn't fully healed.

Jimmy Butler wasn't on Thursday's injury report, but he'll miss Friday's game due to an illness.

Draymond Green was already ruled out Thursday for rest. De'Anthony Melton is out due to knee injury management.

The Thunder will be without Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus) and Jaylin Williams (heel), but otherwise their main rotation players are healthy.

Sitting Big Three Is a Prudent Move

The Warriors just played three games in four nights. They have a game against the Jazz on Saturday. They'll be playing 21 games from today to Feb. 11. Suffice to say, it's a packed schedule.

They'll need to find a few rest days for their aging core.

As bad of a look as it is for the NBA, they are wise to use a game against the Thunder to rest.

After all, the Thunder are the best team in the league. The Warriors would be underdogs even if they were fully healthy.

Without their Big Three, they are even more likely to lose Friday, but in the long run, they'll likely be fresher.

Will Kuminga Be in the Rotation?

Head coach Steve Kerr said on 95.7 The Game that Jonathan Kuminga will play Friday.

Kuminga has been a healthy DNP in nine of the last 10 games, and it was looking like he'd never appear in another game with the Warriors before being traded when he's first eligible on Jan. 15.

Instead, he'll get a playing opportunity against the Thunder.

My guess is Kuminga won't start, but if he plays well, he'll have a legitimate chance to play big minutes.

With Seth Curry also injured, the Warriors have just 11 players available.

Other Rotation Thoughts

Pat Spencer has played just 45 minutes over the last eight games. He should play at least 30 on Friday.

Spencer was arguably the Warriors' best player against the Thunder on Dec. 2, totaling 17 points and six assists. Golden State needs his ball-handling desperately against the highest turnover forcing defense in the NBA.

Quinten Post has played 51 minutes in the past four games. That's an average of just 12.8 per game. He hasn't scored in double figures since Dec. 14. He'll have lots of playing time to potentially have his best game in a few weeks.

Moses Moody has scored in single digits in five of his last seven games. Friday is an opportunity to break out of that slump.

Of course, it won't be easy to score against OKC's No. 1-ranked defense, but many Warriors are starving for a good game and will take any playing time opportunity they can get.