Golden State tunes in to learn 2nd-round opponent
Mike Brown watched Game 6 of the Jazz-Clippers series Friday night with pen in hand. As Chris Paul led Los Angeles to a series-extending victory, Brown jotted down the times of possessions he wanted to review later
“It was an interesting game,” Brown, the Warriors’ acting head coach, said after practice Saturday. The Clippers “got production from a lot of guys across the board.”
The Warriors will host Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday, but they don’t yet know whom they’ll face in the series. So after practice Sunday morning, the players will be watching Game 7 between the Jazz and Clippers, which tips off at 12:30 p.m.
Assistant coaches and advance scouts have closely monitored the series, and during workouts the past two days the Warriors have begun preparing for tendencies they can expect from either team. But it won’t be until Monday, during the last practice before the next round, that Golden State will fully transition to game-planning mode.
“I’ve watched every second,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said of Jazz-Clippers. “You’re just more locked into specifics of what they do. Try to call out certain plays, tendencies of guys you might be guarding. It’s less of, like, a fan experience.”
Nothing the Warriors are seeing surprises them. During the regular season, they went 4-0 against L.A. and 2-1 against Utah.
The Clippers are without forward Blake Griffin, who suffered a season-ending toe injury in Game 3, and Jazz center Rudy Gobert has missed time in the first-round series with knee and ankle injuries. Injury update: While head coach Steve Kerr’s return to the sideline is still up in the air, the Warriors’ players are getting healthier.
Forward Matt Barnes, who has been sidelined since April 8 with a sprained right ankle, has been upgraded from questionable to probable for Tuesday’s Game 1. Guard Shaun Livingston remains questionable with a sprained right index finger, but he is optimistic about being ready for the series opener.
“Not all the way” back yet, Livingston said after practice Saturday. “Hopefully I’ll be ready for Tuesday.”
Forward Kevin Durant, who played just 20 minutes in Game 4 of the first round, is a go for Game 1. Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.