Warriors, with Stephen Curry playing limited role, see others step up in preseason victory over Kings
· Yahoo Sports
Less is more in most things, now, for Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. This is a finely-detailed plan by some advanced minds in sports medicine, and yet not rocket science. After all, 38 years of wear have built on his joints, and the act of stomping his new Li-Nings into hardwood over and over does no long-term good for his ability to still be Stephen Curry at 40-plus.
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He did fewer on-court reps this summer, by design, after a knee condition cost him two months last season. Curry is playing fewer minutes by design this preseason, too, as head coach Steve Kerr yanked Curry after just 14 first-half minutes against Sacramento on Saturday night. And Golden State is preparing itself, already, for the reality that it'll need to sit Curry at times to try and preserve those joints for any run in April.
How, though, do these aging Warriors plan to survive with Curry in sweats?
"We're looking at everybody," Kerr said pregame Saturday. "We're looking at all the young players, and who might be able to fill in … we have to look at different rotations without Steph, different combinations to see what's the most effective way we can win when he's not there."
On a sleepy Saturday at Chase Center - with the attention of basketball lovers in the Bay Area still centered on a Golden State Valkyries sweep in Las Vegas - the Warriors might've just found a slice of non-Curry magic in their 111-106 win over the Kings.
After a couple first-quarter threes, Kerr sent Curry to the bench with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. The Warriors' engine didn't head back to the scorer's table until six minutes remained in the second quarter, and didn't see the floor the rest of the night afterward. This was a slow preseason ramp-up, as Kerr made clear pregame. Preserve the joints.
Warriors 111, Kings 106
FGFTRebSACRAMENTOMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSMurray7:462-31-20-0005Simmons8:542-43-40-0127Achiuwa27:123-82-23-8138Acuff Jr.27:138-155-50-48125LaVine23:175-130-00-12311Mogbo24:254-84-54-81212Clifford22:321-101-20-1323Sharp21:203-80-02-3037Hunter18:312-80-01-3124Black17:213-40-00-3019Plowden16:250-50-02-4120Karaban11:321-10-00-1142Raynaud8:483-33-41-51110Newton4:441-11-10-0003Totals240:0038-9120-2513-412026106Percentages: FG .418, FT .800.
3-Point Goals: 10-30, .333 (Acuff Jr. 4-6, Black 3-3, Raynaud 1-1, LaVine 1-4, Sharp 1-4, Murray 0-1, Achiuwa 0-2, Clifford 0-3, Hunter 0-3, Plowden 0-3).
Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 1 (Raynaud).
Turnovers: 17 (Acuff Jr. 4, Clifford 4, Hunter 2, Simmons 2, Achiuwa, Black, Mogbo, Newton, Plowden).
Steals: 15 (Mogbo 5, LaVine 3, Black 2, Clifford 2, Newton 2, Sharp).
Technical Fouls: None.
FGFTRebGOLDEN STATEMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSLendeborg23:5810-142-21-106323Santos24:216-93-40-61115Green23:041-11-31-7523Curry14:193-60-00-0208Podziemski26:114-93-41-74214Horford20:381-92-23-5324Payton II19:240-10-01-2020Niang18:314-62-20-10213Melton17:580-60-00-2110Williams16:327-83-40-01119Richard13:491-54-42-3127Bassey8:091-13-40-3115Cryer5:370-20-00-0000Leons3:430-20-00-0020Terry3:430-00-01-3100Totals240:0038-7923-2910-492621111Percentages: FG .481, FT .793.
3-Point Goals: 12-35, .343 (Niang 3-4, Podziemski 3-7, Williams 2-2, Curry 2-4, Lendeborg 1-3, Richard 1-4, Leons 0-1, Melton 0-1, Payton II 0-1, Cryer 0-2, Santos 0-2, Horford 0-4).
Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 2.
Blocked Shots: 5 (Melton 3, Horford, Lendeborg).
Turnovers: 21 (Santos 5, Williams 5, Horford 2, Lendeborg 2, Niang 2, Bassey, Curry, Green, Melton, Podziemski).
Steals: 10 (Lendeborg 2, Richard 2, Bassey, Green, Melton, Payton II, Podziemski, Williams).
Technical Fouls: None.
Sacramento25312525-106Golden State24372822-111A: 18,064 (18,064). T: 2:42.
In years past, perhaps, this could've proved a death sentence and a disjointed mess for Golden State's offense. But a one-point Warriors lead at Curry's first-quarter sub, magically, turned into a four-point lead by his second-quarter return, and the Warriors' deeper bench outlasted Sacramento in the second half.
The winning combination, here, was a five-man unit of Brandon Williams, the newly-extended Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Gui Santos and Draymond Green, as Golden State's "small-ball" three-man combination of Lendeborg-Santos-Green has continued to lead to clean offense this preseason.
Rookie Lendeborg, in particular, was ferocious, a steam engine with opposable thumbs who grabbed rebounds and knocked away Kings defenders in transition. He went at Sacramento's big-bodied big Precious Achiuwa on multiple drives. He went at the Kings' 6-foot-9 Jonathan Mogbo on one second-quarter drive, flexing his left biceps and mean-mugging after dropping in another layup. And he offered no second guesses in a 23-point, 10-rebound, six-assist night, continuing a two-game preseason run of flashing an offensive skillset that might be even better than advertised.
"We had a good sense that he could dribble, pass and shoot," Kerr said after Golden State's preseason win over the Lakers on Tuesday. "You can see those on film. I think he's got a better feel for the game than I realized, just watching him handle the ball in the pick-and-roll."
The 6-foot-7 Santos, too, flashed a more mature offensive game to buoy the Warriors' offense for first-half stretches without Curry, accounting for nine of Golden State's 11 points during one second-quarter stint. And new signee Williams, meanwhile, juiced the Warriors' second- and third-team units throughout the second half, notably knocking in a pair of threes after finishing his 2025-26 season in Dallas at just a 23% clip from deep.
Kings injury: Embroiled in a clearly youth-centered rebuild, one of the worst possible preseason developments for Sacramento unfolded on Golden State's floor early in the game.
With 2:32 left in the second quarter, 23-year-old Kings center Maxime Raynaud - a Stanford product and All-Rookie Second Team selection last season for Sacramento - crumpled to the hardwood after his right knee buckled while setting a screen on Curry. Raynaud laid for minutes in obvious pain, as trainers attended to him.
An EMT, eventually, brought out a wheelchair, the center offering a quick wave to fans as he was carted off the floor. Raynaud did not return.
Raynaud played four years at Stanford, averaging 20.2 points per game and a ACC-leading 10.6 rebounds in his final year with the Cardinal in 2024-25.
He has become a potentially vital part of the Kings' long-term plans, averaging 12.5 points per game after being selected at No. 42 in the 2025 NBA draft.
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