This is Why the Golden State Warriors stayed in Santa Monica instead of coming home
After completing the second game of a back-to-back set Tuesday night, the Warriors could have flown back to the Bay Area and slept in their own beds for two nights before playing another back-to-back in Portland on Friday and Sacramento on Saturday.
Instead, they chose to stay in Santa Monica, where they’ll have an off day Wednesday. They’re scheduled to practice in El Segundo on Thursday morning and then fly to Portland.
“What do I like about staying in L.A.?” interim head coach Luke Walton asked. “We’re staying at Casa Del Mar, down by the water. It’s a lovely city.”
The beach is nice, but there’s actually quite a bit of science that has gone into the Warriors’ travel decisions. When possible, the Warriors like to get into cities early and practice almost immediately after landing. They’re also cognizant of the players’ sleep cycles.
“Any time you can take advantage of a road trip and get the guys some extra sleep and not get into a city at 3 a.m., we try to work that into our schedule,” Walton said. “The way the games are spaced out (on this trip), we can do that. We’re going to take advantage of it.”
Head coach Steve Kerr, who is on a leave of absence as he recovers from two offseason back surgeries and a spinal fluid leak, is scheduled to arrive in Southern California on Wednesday or Thursday. He’s planning to complete the trip through Portland and Sacramento, which will be his longest trip of the season.
He previously flew with the team for an overnighter in Los Angeles on Nov. 19. He also was with the Warriors for their back-to-back set at Dallas last Wednesday and Houston on Thursday.
Barnes off the bench:
Harrison Barnes came off the bench for the second straight game Tuesday, but Walton said the team plans to work the forward back into the starting lineup.
“Right now, coming off a sprained ankle, we feel that the best way to limit his minutes is to bring him off the bench and then get him back in toward the end of the half,” Walton said. “Then we can kind of repeat that in the second half.”
Barnes started the season’s first 17 games before being sidelined for a 16-game stretch because of a high left ankle sprain and bone bruise. He’s playing without a minutes limit, but the Warriors want to play him in bursts of fewer than six minutes at a time as he works back into game shape.
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