Warriors center Zaza Pachulia missed all of Games 3 and 4 in the Western Conference finals with an injury to his heel, but after nearly two weeks off his feet, he's healed and back on the court preparing for the Finals with the team.
According to the Mercury News, Pachulia practiced Thursday, Friday and Saturday without restrictions and is slated to start in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 1.
"We've done running, had scrimmages and he's done everything," Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown said of Pachulia, who logged just 33 total minutes against the Spurs.
Pachulia had a tumultuous West finals. He was the center of controversy after Spurs All-Star Kawhi Leonard was injured landing awkwardly on Pachulia's foot -- a play that was dissected like a Zapruder film to determine whether there was malicious intent on Pachulia's part. He was not punished for the play by the NBA, but his family later received death threats because of the incident.
"Even though things didn't go the way I wanted, with Kawhi's injury and my injury, unfortunately, the series is over and the good thing is we have one week off," Pachulia told reporters on Saturday. "That way I can prepare myself mentally and physically for this team."
Pachulia is part of a center rotation that includes JaVale McGee. He's averaging 14.5 minutes and 6.1 points per game in the postseason and is the fifth man of a four All-Star starting lineup alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant.
