Over the past few months, the Warriors have repeatedly used the phrase “ramp up” to describe the conditioning efforts of Klay Thompson and James Wiseman in their respective rehabs. Guess what else is getting the “ramp up” treatment in the coming weeks? Klay’s playing time.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Friday with hosts Ray Ratto and Whitey Gleason (filling in for Damon Bruce) to discuss the team’s upcoming playoff rotation and more. You can listen to the full interview below:
A big piece of that playoff rotation puzzle will be the minutes load for Warriors guard Klay Thompson. Klay is still being held to a 30-minute limit but Kerr said that number could get as high as 39 come the postseason.
“Thirty-four [minutes] is what we kinda map out for Klay and Steph [Curry], 34 to 36,” Kerr said. “Steph has gone over that quite a bit this year just out of necessity, When the playoffs come, 34 to 36 becomes 36 to 39. We’re still six, seven weeks away from the playoffs. As Klay continues to improve and ramp up the minutes, I think that’s where we’re heading. He’s gonna be fully capable of playing a 38-minute playoff game without any problem.”
That’s great news to hear if you’re a Dubs fan. Thompson could only imagine this moment a few weeks ago as he made his return from two-and-a-half years away from NBA game action. Klay said he was happy to rest in the fourth quarter of Thursday's win and watch the Warriors' young players, so you know he's getting into the rhythm of the season.
Thompson has averaged 25.2 minutes per game in the 17 contests he’s played so far, but is yet to play in both legs of a back-to-back. The Warriors have four more back-to-backs in the regular season but playoff schedules usually afford a day of rest between games. You’d think he’ll be available to play in 18 of the final 22 games to wrap up the regular season before the reins are completely off for the playoffs.
Listen to Bay Area sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Warriors team gear
On the topic of playoff minutes, Kerr also discussed the progress of Jonathan Kuminga, who has a chance to go down as the biggest impact rookie of the Bob Myers era so far.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that JK will be in the postseason rotation,” Kerr said.
Kerr added that he usually likes to rely on a solid eight- to nine-man rotation in the playoffs and then supplement with select bench players based on the matchup. Kuminga is playing his way into the top eight or nine after taking advantage of the last six weeks without Draymond Green.
“I look at the silver linings,” Kerr said. “The injuries have really given us a chance to develop Jonathan Kuminga. He wouldn’t have got the minutes he’s gotten if Draymond had been healthy the last 20 games.”
