Warriors can redefine load management in NBA

Warriors are not throwing caution to the wind

The organization has reevaluated Stephen Curry’s injury, stating he's progressing but needs more time. Curry has already missed five games and will miss another five games at least after his reevaluation.   

They are also not playing key veterans on back-to-back games, like Al Horford, DeAnthony Melton and Seth Curry, who is dealing with a sciatica injury, all while being cautious with how they are handling new acquisition Kristaps Porzingis' general illness.  
 
After playing 17 minutes against the Boston Celtics on Feb. 19, the Warriors' new big man has not played a game for them since. They received some positive news regarding Porzingis' illness designation before their upcoming road trip.

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. joined Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard on "The TK Show," discussing the state of the Warriors. He hinted that they aren't looking to shut down key players like Curry and Porzingis, and they feel good about where they are as an organization. 

They are not a team that is looking to lose games, and the goal and realistic expectation is to still win at the highest level. Even though the team has dealt with adversity due to injury and off-court drama, its goals are still attainable.

If the goal is to have its best players as healthy as possible for an opportunity to compete in the play-in and postseason, it would be beneficial for the team to wait as long as it can for Curry, Porzingis and others to be as well rested and healthy as possible for the end of the season and potential postseason series. 

If the Warriors can thread a very thin needle, staying in play-in contention without their best players, waiting for them to be as healthy for a postseason opportunity, it will be a breakthrough that can potentially change the NBA for the future. 

The difference between this way of load managing is that teams like the Warriors are trying to win at the highest level. Not shutting down their best players for the season, but making sure they are at their healthiest at the end of the season when it matters most.
 
It is a fine line the organization is trying to walk. If the Warriors keep pace these next 21 games, having their best players as fresh and healthy as possible for a play-in or postseason series, they will be able to compete with any team in a playoff scenario. If they do have success in the postseason due to their best players having fresh legs, teams should consider managing their players' workload if they are firmly locked into a play-in or playoff position before the postseason.