Warriors Catch Break as Knicks Star Ruled Out

Jalen Brunson (ankle) has been ruled out for Thursday's game between the Knicks and Warriors at Chase Center.

Brunson suffered the injury on Wednesday against the Kings. He is day-to-day.

Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is also out, while Landry Shamet (shoulder) is questionable.

Seth Curry (sciatica) will miss his 19th straight game, but the rest of the Warriors roster is healthy.

Steph Looking for Bounce-Back Game

Stephen Curry had a season-low seven points on 2-of-9 shooting in Tuesday's win against the Trail Blazers. Expect him to come out firing against New York.

Curry's third-lowest point total (11) of the season came against the Thunder on Nov. 11. He followed that up with 46 points against the Spurs.

His second-lowest point total (nine) came against the Pelicans on Nov. 16. He followed that up with 34 points agains the Magic.

It should also be noted that Curry didn't have a bad game against the Blazers. He finished with a season-high 11 assists and just one turnover.

Still, the Warriors will need him to score close to his average of 28.1 points to beat a Knicks team that's 25-15. And though the Knicks are a much better offensive team with Brunson, they defend much better without him. So not having Brunson isn't as big of a loss as it might appear on the surface.

Warriors Can Get Four Games Above .500 for First Time This Season

It's been an up-and-down season for Golden State.

The Warriors started 4-1, then lost five of seven, then won three straight, and then lost nine of 13.

Since their loss to the Suns that dropped them to 13-15, they've won nine of 13.

They are currently 3-1 on their eight-game homestand, and they are pretty big favorites against the Knicks without Brunson.

This is an opportunity to continue to close the gap on the seven teams ahead of them in the West.

Starting Lineup Woes Continue

The Warriors have had the same starting lineup in 14 of their last 15 games, and it's now the team's most-used lineup overall.

The Stephen Curry, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Quinten Post lineup has a minus-7.3 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass.

Curry and Butler have played well all year, and though Green has had his struggles, he's unlikely to be pulled from the starting lineup. That leaves Steve Kerr with the choice of keeping Moody and Post in the lineup or going elsewhere.

De'Anthony Melton is clearly outperforming Moody, but Steve Kerr is trying to avoid playing him too much so soon after returning from his ACL injury. My guess is Melton will start by the end of the season, but for now, Moody makes the most sense.

Post is probably closer to being demoted. He's down to 34.1 percent from three, and Al Horford has been playing much better recently, as he's shooting 41.5 percent from three over his last nine games.

Don't be surprised if Horford gets the nod over Post soon.

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