Kristaps Porziņģis is back.
Coach Steve Kerr announced that the Warriors’ recently acquired big man is expected to play around 15 to 20 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday evening at Paycom Center.
Porziņģis, whom Golden State landed at the NBA trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, had missed the Warriors’ last six games with an illness.
The 7-foot-2 floor-spacer posted 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting with one rebound and one assist in his 17-minute Warriors debut on Feb. 19 against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center.
“Yeah, as the game went on, it got better and better,” Porziņģis said after his first game with Golden State. “And this is like first step to keep building. I had some opportunities, couple turnovers. I think it’s just a matter of time to get in a better rhythm from this point on.”
While they will not be pressuring him to play through something unbearable, the Warriors surely will hope that Porziņģis is back for good.
“When a guy is hurt or sick or whatever, there’s no one around here like pressuring you, like, ‘Yo, what’s going on?’ We don’t move like that,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne last week. “So I don’t think in this locker room, we feel the uncertainty as much as everyone else does, because that’s just not how we operate.
“We know if he’s healthy, he’s going to get back out there.”
Porziņģis has played in just 117 of a possible 246 regular-season games over the last three seasons due to illness and injury.
But when he’s available, Porziņģis is a difference-maker, carrying career averages of 19.5 points on a 36.6-percent clip from 3-point range with 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
The Warriors will need all they can get out of Porziņģis against the Thunder, with Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Will Richard sidelined.
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