SAN FRANCISCO – If things couldn’t get any worse for the Golden State Warriors, already a team without stars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, it did in a 127-117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Al Horford, Quinton Post and Seth Curry all sat out Golden State’s fourth consecutive loss. And before that, Draymond Green was scratched 20 minutes before the game started. That left the Warriors struggling for healthy bodies as T-Wolves star Anthony Edwards finished with 42 points on 13-22 shooting.
After the game, Dubs coach Steve Kerr acknowledged how depleted and injured the Warriors were at the moment as they fell to 32–34 on the season.
“We’re definitely going through it,” Kerr said. “But you saw how hard the guys played and stuck in it and got the fans into it. And we can’t ask for anything more from our players right now. What they’re giving as far as effort and playing together. But yeah, we lost just as well as any team I can ever remember.”
Beating is an understatement.
With seven players out due to injury, the Warriors were missing more than $160 million in salary. That’s about 70% of their $233,853,209 payroll. And to add literal insult to injury, this latest skid has allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to overtake them for the eighth seed, leaving them just a half-game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers in 10th.
status of wounded warriors
However, it remains to be seen whether these latest injuries will persist.
Kerr had no update after the game on Green, Post or Curry. As far as Horford is concerned, Kerr had few details regarding the veteran big man’s situation. While the team announced during the game that Horford was out due to right calf soreness, Kerr described Horford’s injury as a “strain” after the game.
“With a calf strain, I don’t know how long Al will be out,” Kerr said. “But I hope that with the calf, we won’t have to move him back too quickly.”
With Horford potentially out for a while, Kerr hopes to turn to Kristaps Porzingis for starts in the meantime. Porzingis, who has battled injuries this season and throughout his career, has had some encouraging games after missing six consecutive games due to illness. Porzingis finished with 20 points in 19 minutes of action, the most points he has scored in his four games for the Warriors.
“Feeling fine,” Porzingis said after the game. “Step by step, just trying to get back into really good shape. Still got a way to go, but happy with the progress so far.”
Captured the fort for the Golden State
In the meantime, the onus will be on Porzingis and the rest of the healthy Warriors to deal with this latest storm of injuries.
But with injuries also come opportunities. Brandin Podziemski, who has excelled in basketball since Curry’s passing, understands that common NBA adage.
“I look at it as a blessing in disguise,” Podziemski said optimistically after collecting 25 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
“Just because it’s an opportunity and you’re able to build confidence when you’re out there, especially when there’s no expectations, and people are probably expecting us to lose. So it’s a blessing to me that when other guys come back, that confidence you build, you can be ready to show when you come back as well.”
There is an obvious concern that due to not having enough healthy bodies, the remaining players may get tired from the extra workload. But Kerr isn’t too worried about that potential issue. He pointed to the medical staff’s diligence in monitoring that potential problem and the youth of the remaining players.
Despite this, Kerr is keeping an optimistic outlook, presenting this latest round of injuries as something he has to get past.
“I feel like there are really brighter days ahead,” Kerr said. “So you just have to go through a tough situation.”
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