The Golden State Warriors announced major injury updates on forwards Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga after they were re-evaluated on Monday, January 27.
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The Warriors said both players will remain out of the lineup but they “are making good progress” in their injury recovery.
Green has missed the Warriors’ last four games with a strained left calf.
“He has been doing light on-court work and is expected to rejoin parts of team practices in the coming days. His status will be monitored day-to-day at that point,” the Warriors medical bulletin said.
On the other hand, Kuminga has missed the Warriors’ last 11 games after suffering a significant right ankle sprain against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 4.
The Warriors said he will be re-evaluated again in two weeks.
“He is expected to begin light on-court individual workouts in the next week,” the Warriors medical update said.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Extended Absence a Major Blow
Kuminga out for the next two weeks and possibly more is a major blow to the Warriors who have lost seven of their last 11 games without Kuminga and 1-3 without Green during this rough stretch.
Since they lost Kuminga to injury, the Warriors have the second-least attempts from less than five feet to the basket with only 23.1. They were 11th with 29 attempts per game before Kuminga’s injury.
The Warriors’ 15 made field goals from less than five feet to the basket are in the bottom three over their last 10 games without Kuminga. They were tied for 13th with 17.9 made per game before Kuminga went down.
Their 11.6 made and 15.7 free throw attempts ranked last in their last 10 games without Kuminga. Before his injury, the Warriors were a little better at 25th with 20.6 free throw attempts. Their 14.7 made free throws were still the league’s worst even before Kuminga’s lengthy absence. It became a much bigger issue without him.
3 Warriors Stepping Up But Still Not Enough
Without their two key cogs, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has spread their minutes to rookie center Quinten Post, G League mainstay Gui Santos and fourth-year swingman Moses Moody.
The 7-foot Post scored a career-high 20 points with five 3-pointers in the Warriors’ 131-105 win over the Chicago Bulls on January 23. Santos also responded with two big scoring games — 16 points and five rebounds in their 123-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings on January 22 and 19 points with seven rebounds against the Bulls the following night.
Kerr has utilized Moody at power forward more with Green out. Moody has been playing well even before Green went down with the calf injury. He has scored in double figures in his last six games, averaging 12.3 points on 50.9% shooting, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.3 minutes.
Despite these three players stepping up, the Warriors find themselves one game outside the play-in with a 22-23 record.
By the time Kuminga will be re-evaluated, he would have missed an additional 9 more games.
Doctor Was Right on Jonathan Kuminga’s Injury Timeline
Dr. Nirav Pandya, a professor at the Orthopedic Surgery department of the University of California, San Francisco and director of sports medicine at Benioff Children’s Hospital, had an ominous interview about Kuminga’s injury three weeks ago.
“Anytime you have a player who at the time of injury, the team’s already saying, ‘Hey, this is a severe injury.’ It’s a little bit more significant,” Dr. Pandya said on “Willard and Dibs” show on 95.7 The Game on January 8. “Even before you get an MRI, based on how he looks, you do get a little bit more concerned.
“And when you see this three-week re-evaluation timeline, it doesn’t mean typically, that he’s going to be quote, unquote, playing in three weeks. It could be another three to four weeks afterward. So when you get these more moderate to severe sprains, you’re looking at six weeks.”
Dr. Pandya was right about the six-week timeline. The Warriors are hoping Kuminga will not suffer any setback within the next two weeks.
