The Golden State Warriors will be out to bounce-back from Wednesday’s disastrous buzzer-beating loss to the San Antonio Spurs when they visit Portland to face the Trail Blazers at Moda Center on Friday.

Harrison Barnes’ game-winning three has seen the Warriors fall to the seventh-seed in the Western Conference standings, though they could move back to sixth if the Minnesota Timberwolves can beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

The Warriors may be short-handed against the Trail Blazers on Friday

Barnes’ heroics for the Spurs was made more painful by the fact Steve Kerr pushed his starters to a level that reflected the enormity of the game. Jimmy Butler played his most minutes in a Warrior uniform at just over 38, while Stephen Curry played over 37, and Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski each over 33 in the 114-111 loss.

While the core players saw extensive rest in the fourth-quarter of Tuesday’s blowout win over the Phoenix Suns, there are some fans who believe there are signs of fatigue among the veteran players given how hard they’ve had to push just to get their season back on track.

I really think the Warriors are getting fatigued. It’s not constantly affecting them but it’s creeping in at hella inconvenient times.

Feels critical to get the play-in games schedule to rest, but running out of gas at the end here will compound their issue.

— fakelogic (@fakelogic) April 10, 2025

It doesn’t help that Golden State were short-handed on their back-to-back, having played without veteran guard Gary Payton II and impressive rookie center Quinten Post. That duo could find themselves on the sidelines again in Portland, with both questionable to face the Trail Blazers as Payton deals with knee inflammation and Post an illness.

Payton was one of the rare shining lights in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, going for 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in the 106-96 victory.

The lack of spacing without Post has been evident in the Butler-Green centric lineups to start the second and fourth-quarters over the last couple of games, with the seven-footer having shot a team-high 41% from beyond the arc this season on over four attempts per game.

The Trail Blazers don’t have too much to play for in terms of their own season as they sit 12th in the West and outside Play-In range, but they do have some young talented players looking to further prove themselves and play spoiler against a West rival.

Portland went on a big run either side of the All-Star break to propel themselves into Play-In contention, yet have lost six of their last nine games including a surprise 133-126 overtime defeat to the cellar dwellar Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Deni Avdija has developed into a star for the Trail Blazers over recent months, but the former top 10 pick is doubtful for Friday’s game due to a thumb sprain. Portland will be without Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams and Scoot Henderson, giving the Warriors an opportunity to get back on track in their penultimate game of the regular season.