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The Golden State Warriors will play their final game of the 2017 NBA preseason tonight at Oracle Arena when they face the Sacramento Kings.
In true preseason fashion -- or maybe regular season fashion for the Warriors in the last year or so -- multiple key players will be sitting for both teams.
The Warriors will be without Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala for tonight's game, according to a tweet from Warriors PR this morning. Meanwhile, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported earlier today that the Kings will be without Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Aaron Fox and George Hill tonight.
For tonight's game vs. Sacramento: Kevin Durant (virus), Draymond Green (back strain) & Andre Iguodala (back strain) are out.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) October 13, 2017
George Hill-Sacramento Kings Hill has a right groin injury and it is uncertain if he will suit up against the Rockets on Wednesday. #NBA #DF
— Daily NBA Lineups (@NBALineupsDaily) October 13, 2017
Bogdan Bogdanovic-Sacramento Kings Bogdanovic is nursing a right ankle injury and his availability against the Rockets on Wednesday is undet
— Daily NBA Lineups (@NBALineupsDaily) October 13, 2017
For the Warriors' end of things, this could be merely precautionary -- all three Warriors sitting out of tonight's game were practicing yesterday, according to Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group. Nevertheless, with Iguodala's history of back problems, his health might be something to monitor leading up to the regular season opener on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the bright side of this story (if there is one) is probably that a) the Warriors will probably be sitting their stars even quicker than they normally would since a chunk of their rotation is out anyway for a meaningless game and b) we'll get to see more of the youngsters, as described by Medina.
Those absences will likely open up playing time for the Warriors' frontcourt in David West, Jordan Bell, Damian Jones, Kevon Looney. The Warriors also have newcomers on their training camp roster in Trevor Thompson, Mike Gbinije and Georges Niang that are available to play.
So, ironically, the injuries to a few of the Warriors' stars could be more reason to watch the preseason finale, though it will be much easier to enjoy once we know for sure that these injuries are more precautionary than a problem.
Update (7:15 p.m.): Jordan Bell will get the start!
Tonight’s Starters: GSW - Curry, Thompson, Young, Bell, Pachulia; SAC - Hield, Mason lll, Jackson, Labissiere, Cauley-Stein.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) October 14, 2017