MINNEAPOLIS _ Draymond Green shook his head in frustration. For once, his befuddled look had nothing to do with an officials' call. It had everything to do with his upcoming itinerary.
The Warriors just concluded a 111-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Then, the Warriors would take a flight here where they landed at 2:30 am CT. The Warriors (47-22) will then play the Timberwolves (32-28) in 24 hours. Yes, they both cities are in the central time zone, but they are located at opposite sides of the country.
"It's crazy. We get this back-to-back it seems like every year between here and Minnesota or New Orleans and Minnesota," Green said. "We get it every year. It's crazy. But if all of us would have sat tonight it would have been a problem. So somebody needs to figure something out."
The Warriors had sat plenty of their players when they played in San Antonio two seasons ago on the second night of a back-to-back after playing in Minnesota. That also marked the Warriors' final game as part of a 13-day, eight-game trip. So while Kevin Durant nursed an injury, Kerr also rested Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sat Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. The NBA did not like that one bit since the game was nationally televised.
Since then, the NBA has adjusted its schedules for the past two seasons so there are fewer extensive trips and back-to-backs. For back-to-backs, the NBA makes sure each city's airport is close to its respective arena and limits those games to cities in the same time zone. Because of those variables, the Warriors are not as upset with this latest back-to-back.
"It's inevitable there's going to be something," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "The league has done an amazing job in lightening the travel load for all of us. Every team has felt it. It'll be the first time all year where I feel like we're really being stressed."
Therefore, the Warriors have treated their latest back-to-back resting some players. DeMarcus Cousins will sit out for a second consecutive game because of a sore right ankle. The Warriors have listed veteran Shaun Livingston (rest) and rookie Jacob Evans (illness) as questionable. After missing Monday's game in San Antonio for dental work, veteran Andre Iguodala is listed as probable for Tuesday's game in Minnesota.
That may not completely soften the fatigue the Warriors admittedly feel.
"It sucks. But what can you do? People still have a 9-to-5 and they still have to show up, whether they like it or not," Thompson said. "We do have three months off of the year. So at the end of the day, it ain't too bad to play a back-to-back going from Texas to Minnesota. It does suck on your body, but you just got to get the proper mental rest."
Some within the Warriors, though, mused on how its latest four-game trip did not exactly help them receive that rest.
They spent a total of four days last week in Houston for an evening practice (Tuesday), a game (Wednesday), an off day (Thursday) and then a late-morning practice (Friday). Afterwards, the Warriors departed for Oklahoma City for Saturday's game against the Thunder. The Warriors did not practice on Sunday after traveling over night to San Antonio for Monday's game. Then, the Warriors flew over night to Minneapolis.
Nonetheless, the Warriors do not have a plan to complain to the NBA. They have appreciated that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made changes to the league's previous schedule. They are mindful of all the challenges in scheduling games, including accommodating 30 NBA teams and all of its venues. Many of those venues also host other sporting events and concerts.
"That's one back-to-back _ small price to pay for an incredible logistical morass of issues," Kerr said. "Considering what Adam has done for the teams and players in terms of helping us with rest and staying healthy, this is just a little bump in the road."
