The Warriors won their seventh straight road game Thursday night against the New York Knicks, but lost their race against the Sun when they eventually arrived in Toronto.
The second night of back-to-back Eastern road games Friday night will feature some teary eyes when the Warriors (31-27) visit the Toronto Raptors (22-37).
A Warriors team source confirmed that the club sat on the tarmac in Newark, New Jersey for several hours after the conclusion of their match. 110-99 victory against the Knickswaiting for a new chartered flight because the original one had mechanical problems.
When the Warriors boarded their new plane and left, it was after 5 a.m. They landed in Toronto about an hour later and didn’t arrive at their team hotel until 7:15 a.m.
After winning the first two games of their road trip against Washington and New York, the Warriors have a chance to go 3-0 on the trip before Sunday’s showdown with the Boston Celtics at Boston Garden.
Even though NBA charters provide ample space for players to stretch out and get some shut-eye, it’s far from an ideal scenario in terms of rest and recovery. Whether coach Steve Kerr will reduce the playing time of veterans such as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green or have them sit out in anticipation of the Celtics game will be determined at some point before kickoff at 4:30 p.m. .
The Warriors will be without the services of rookie Brandin Podziemski, who injured his right knee diving for a loose ball against the Knicks. He was listed as “out” on the NBA’s official injury report.
Podziemski, along with forward Jonathan Kumingha and forward Moses Moody, brought a touch of youth to the veteran corps. All are 21 years old, with Kuminga and Moody in their third seasons and Podziemski a rookie from Santa Clara.
Kuminga scored 25 points against the Knicks and has scored in double figures in 37 of the last 30 games, with more than 20 in the last two.
“We want to win every game, but we’re also trying to strengthen our future as a franchise,” Kerr told reporters before the flight delay. “They are playing really well and winning. I think that’s how it works in this league. Brandin is kind of an exception to come in and start the way he did.
Podziemski aside, the Warriors are relatively healthy and Kerr has a deep bench, especially since Chris Paul returned two games ago and Klay Thompson is in a sixth-man role.
Moody, who got the tough assignment from the Knicks’ reigning leading scorer Jalen Brunson on Thursday night, started the last two games in place of Andrew Wiggins, who is out due to a personal issue.
