McCaw hopes to return Monday

PHOENIX — The Warriors are hopeful that guard Patrick McCaw will return Monday against San Antonio from a fractured left wrist that has sidelined him for more than a month, a team spokesman confirmed with The Chronicle.

It is positive news for a team in need of backcourt help. With McCaw, Stephen Curry (tweaked right ankle) and Klay Thompson (fractured right thumb) sidelined in recent days, Golden State has had only three guards available: Nick Young, Shaun Livingston and twoway-contract player Quinn Cook.

Before missing the past 12 games, McCaw was having a tough time building off a surprisingly productive rookie season. His threepoint shooting percentage is 25, more than eight points below last season’s clip. McCaw is averaging fewer points than he did as a rookie, in slightly more minutes.

After going six games without a point, he took a voluntary demotion last month to get extended playing time with Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. McCaw played two games with the Santa Cruz Warriors before scoring nine points on 4-for-6 shooting in eight minutes of Golden State’s Feb. 12 rout of Phoenix.

He left that game for good late in the second quarter with a sprained right wrist. Before that injury, McCaw had been experiencing some soreness in his left wrist.

Now, with the playoffs less than a month away, the Warriors are slowly getting back to full strength.

Forward Omri Casspi is listed as day-to-day with a tweaked right ankle. Curry, who missed his fourth straight game Friday, will be sidelined for at least one more. Thompson will have his thumb re-evaluated Thursday, but is expected to miss at least two weeks. Kevin Durant is also expected to miss at least two weeks with a fractured rib.

Center rotation: In the wake of the Warriors’ recent rash of injuries, head coach Steve Kerr has moved center Zaza Pachulia back into the starting lineup. It raises an intriguing question: Will Kerr supplant Pachulia with JaVale McGee when the team is completely healthy?

“I don’t know,” Kerr said before Saturday night’s game at Phoenix. “It’s a possibility, but it’s very different depending on who is on the floor.”