![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-1236877381-e1766624800190.jpg\")
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Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors reacts after Draymond Green was called with a technical foul by referee Brian Forte.<\/p>\n
Santa Claus may not wear a Warriors<\/a> uniform, but Golden State is getting a timely gift just days before Christmas.<\/p>\n Veteran center Al Horford<\/a> is expected to return to the lineup when the Warriors host the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>, a development that could bring much-needed balance to a team navigating injuries, lineup instability and rising internal tension.<\/p>\n \u201cAl is likely to play tomorrow,\u201d coach Steve Kerr told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Horford has missed eight of the Warriors\u2019 last nine games due to sciatica and has appeared in only 13 of 30 contests this season. He has averaged 5.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 three-pointers, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 21.4 minutes per game while operating primarily in a rotational role.<\/p>\n Golden State signed Horford in the offseason not for his box-score dominance, but for what he offers structurally \u2014 spacing at center, defensive intelligence and championship-level experience. The Warriors envisioned him as a stabilizer, a connective piece in a lineup that has often lacked size and rim protection.<\/p>\n That vision has yet to materialize.<\/p>\n Horford is shooting a career-low 29.8 percent from three-point range and 32.1 percent overall, in part because of inconsistent availability, minutes restrictions and team policy that prevents him from playing both games of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n Horford\u2019s Return Could Shift Warriors\u2019 Defensive Burden GettyAl Horford is set to return for the Christmas showdown between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n Horford\u2019s absence has forced Golden State to lean heavily on Draymond Green<\/a> and second-year center Quinten Post<\/a> to anchor the interior. That has increased Green\u2019s defensive workload, particularly against larger, more physical centers across the league.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Marc Spears noted that strain while discussing Green\u2019s recent flare-up with Kerr.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hearing that Draymond\u2019s a little frustrated with having to guard centers and having guys that are 40 to 50 pounds heavier than him on a nightly basis,\u201d Spears said<\/a> Tuesday on NBA<\/a> Today.<\/p>\n Horford\u2019s return could alleviate that pressure by allowing Green to roam more freely as a help defender \u2014 a role in which he has historically been most effective.<\/p>\n Green, Kerr Confrontation Highlights Warriors\u2019 Tension<\/p>\n The timing of Horford\u2019s return is significant.<\/p>\n It comes just days after Green and Kerr engaged in a heated confrontation during a third-quarter timeout of Monday\u2019s win over the Orlando Magic<\/a>. With Golden State trailing 71\u201366, Kerr called a timeout to reset what he later described as a lapse in focus. Green, visibly animated, argued with Kerr and an official before walking back to the locker room instead of joining the huddle.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, we got into it, obviously,\u201d Kerr said<\/a>\u00a0after the game. \u201cI took the timeout because I thought we lost our focus a little bit. We had it out briefly, and he made the decision to go back to the locker room to cool off. That\u2019s all I\u2019m going to say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Green later returned to the bench, but Kerr chose not to reinsert him into the game.<\/p>\n Golden State responded with its best stretch of basketball of the night, tightening defensively and outscoring Orlando by 23 points over the final 20 minutes to secure the win.<\/p>\n The response reinforced Kerr\u2019s assertion that the confrontation was about focus, not discipline.<\/p>\n \u201cTempers spilled over, and I thought it was best that I get out of there,\u201d Green said<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think it was a situation where it was going to get better. It was best to remove myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Warriors Look for Reset as Mavericks Visit<\/p>\n The Mavericks have won six of their last 10 games, adding urgency to the matchup as Golden State tries to find consistency.<\/p>\n The Warriors enter the game at 15\u201315 overall and 5\u20135 over their last 10 games, hovering around the middle of the Western Conference standings.<\/p>\n Horford\u2019s return won\u2019t solve everything. But it offers something Golden State has lacked \u2014 structural balance.<\/p>\n Horford gives Kerr another defensive anchor, another passer from the high post and another veteran voice in the locker room. It allows Green to conserve energy. It provides a more traditional counter to the league\u2019s size-driven frontcourts.<\/p>\n For a team still searching for rhythm, sometimes the most valuable gifts are not stars or spectacle \u2014 but stability.<\/p>\n And that is exactly what the Warriors hope Al Horford brings with him back onto the floor.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Warriors\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors reacts after Draymond Green was called with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-202712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Al](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Al-Horford-2-e1761705408191.jpg\")
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