Warriors starting lineup minus Klay Thompson will play in the second night of back-to-back vs. Rockets

Dec 3, 2022 - 11:05 PM

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Despite playing less than 24 hours ago, the Golden State Warriors will tip-off their second night of a back-to-back on Saturday as they take on the Houston Rockets. The Warriors usually rest their veteran players under these circumstances, however Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports that all the Warriors’ usual starters will be available tonight except for Klay Thompson.

While Klay Thompson being ruled out is no surprise, the rest of the starting lineup being active is great news for a Warriors team looking to build some momentum after last night’s 119-111 home victory against the Chicago Bulls. Jordan Poole led the team with 30-points last night and is expected to play big minutes once again in Thompson’s place.

Aside from Thompson, the only other Warriors player listed as out is Andre Iguodala who remains sidelined due to a hip injury. On the other hand, the Rockets will be without five players as Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, Darius Days, Trevor Hudgins, and TyTy Washington Jr. are all listed as out on the team’s injury report.

This will be the fifth back-to-back for the Warriors in a schedule that has them playing in 13 sets of back-to-back games this season. So far, Golden State is 3-6 in these games and 1-4 during the second night of each set. Their only win came against the San Antonio Spurs, as a big 36-point performance from Poole allowed Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney to rest most of the fourth quarter en route to a blowout 132-95 victory.

The Warriors will attempt do the same in this one by putting the game away early against a Rockets team that ranks second to last in the Western Conference standings.