March 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr gestures to his team during the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Ahead of Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, the Golden State Warriors finally made some positive progress on the injury front.
Kristaps Porzingis returned to action for the Warriors on Saturday in a 104-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing six games due to illness. Porzingis played in only his second game for Golden State since being acquired in a trade with Atlanta on February 4, recording nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes.
“I felt like my body was back to where it was supposed to be,” Porzingis told The Athletic on Saturday.
Porzingis has appeared in just 19 games for the Hawks and Golden State this season. Managing POTS, a condition that greatly affects his energy, has limited his ability to stay on the court.
The Warriors plan to rest him Monday against Utah and then play Porzingis against Chicago on Tuesday. Although cautious, Golden State remains optimistic about his performance so far.
“I thought he looked like he didn’t play in rhythm at all,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told The Athletic. “But I thought he looked great physically. It was a really encouraging night to be able to play for 23 minutes. I spoke to him after the game and he said he was in good spirits. It was really fun to see him. You can see what kind of weapon he is, the size he gives us. And obviously we’re still figuring out the combinations and moves we want to run with him, so it’s going to take a little bit of time. But it’s really encouraging to see him on the pitch.”
Golden State will likely continue to rely heavily on Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green to lead the offense. In March, Poziemski averaged 21.7 points on 47.2% shooting while Green averaged 10.0 points and 6.3 assists per contest.
Utah played shorthanded like Golden State in March. The Jazz have remained competitive but are still struggling to find wins.
They ended their three-game road trip with a 113-99 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. Utah struggled on offense against the Bucks, shooting 34.4 percent from the field and 12 of 49 from 3-point range. Leading scorer Keyonte George, who finished the game with 22 points, exemplified his shooting struggles, going 4 of 17 from the field.
Still, the energy and fight he’s seen from the players recently has Jazz coach Will Hardy confident about the team’s bright future beyond the current season.
“I’m really excited to see where it takes us,” Hardy told the Deseret News. “And I’m really excited for the people in our organization – the players and the staff. When you talk about being a winning organization and building a winning culture, people are everything. I think we’ve done a really good job in terms of the people we’ve put in the locker room and the people we’ve put around them.”
–Field level media
