
It has been 13 months since the Warriors generated a win streak beyond eight games. They’ll try to change that Thursday, when they face the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 4 o’clock, with Warriors Pregame. Tipoff in the nation’s capital is scheduled for 4:53 p.m. PT.
The Warriors (33-14) are the hottest team in the NBA, winning eight in a row and moving into the first place in the Western Conference last week. They lead second-place Denver by 1.5 games.
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Bolstered by the addition of center DeMarcus Cousins last Friday, the Warriors are coming off a sweep of the Clippers and Lakers in Los Angeles, winning both games by double digits.
The Wizards (20-26), who continue to be among the league’s most notable underachievers, are without three starters, yet show signs of improvement, winning four of five for the first time this season.
When the teams met on Oct. 24 at Oracle Arena, Stephen Curry scored 51 points to lead the Warriors to a 144-122 victory.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Golden State Warriors
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Warriors
F – Kevin Durant
F – Draymond Green
C – DeMarcus Cousins
G – Klay Thompson
G – Stephen Curry
Wizards
F – Trevor Ariza
F – Jeff Green
C – Thomas Bryant
G – Bradley Beal
G – Tomas Satoransky
INJURY REPORT
Warriors: F Jonas Jerebko (paternity leave) and C Damian Jones (L pectoral surgery) are listed as out.
Wizards: C Dwight Howard (L4-L5 lumbar surgery), F Markieff Morris (neck/upper back injury) and G John Wall (L heel surgery) are listed as out.
ROTATION OUTLOOK
Warriors:
Barring foul trouble, expect Cousins to play between 20-24 minutes.
With no back-to-back sets until Feb. 12-13, coach Steve Kerr can continue to utilize a nine-man rotation, going deeper in the case of a blowout. Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney and Alfonzo McKinnie command most of the minutes off the bench.
Jerebko is not expected back before the Jan. 31 game against the 76ers. Most of his minutes likely will go to McKinnie, who averaged 17.3 minutes over the past seven games.
It will be interesting to see how much, if any, playing time goes to Jordan Bell after his heated exchange with Kerr late in the win over the Lakers on Monday night.
Wizards:
The Wizards were 13-22 when Wall as declared out for the season. They’ve since gone 7-4.
Forward Otto Porter, formerly a solid starter, is three weeks into the Sixth Man role and has elevated his play largely because he’s more productive on offense while retaining his defensive proficiency.
Aside from Porter, the bulk of the bench minutes go to center Ian Mahinmi, forward Sam Dekker and guard Chasson Randle.
The Wizards have two reserves with Bay Area connections. In addition to Randle, a Stanford product, there is guard Gary Payton II, the son of Hall of Famer Gary Payton, an Oakland native.