The Warriors are set to face the Thunder tomorrow night (January 2) at the Chase Center in San Francisco after their latest win on New Year’s Eve against the Hornets. While this upcoming game holds more significance for the Warriors, as they face the defending champions, their latest injury report has brought some troubling news for Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.
According to Warriors’ insider Anthony Slater of ESPN, Draymond Green has been listed out for tomorrow’s fixture as a rest day for the 35-year-old NBA veteran.
Coming off with nearly a triple-double against the Hornets [10 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds], the four-time NBA champion will likely return in their next game, which is against the Jazz on the day after tomorrow (January 3), the second night of a back-to-back.
We should anticipate seeing more minutes from Gui Santos and maybe some action for Jonathan Kuminga due to this change in their rotation.
Another four-time NBA champion on the Warriors’ roster, Stephen Curry, has been listed as questionable for the game due to an ankle sprain. Curry reportedly tweaked his ankle in the Warriors’ overtime loss to the Raptors earlier this week.
Yet, he has played in two consecutive wins since and averaged 26.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists over these games against the Nets and Hornets.
While Curry might end up being a game-time decision for the Warriors, Brandin Podziemski and Pat Spencer could be looking at more minutes in the game if the four-time NBA champion is benched in this fixture.
The rest of the Warriors’ injury report lists De’Anthony Melton as questionable to play, while Al Horford and Trayce Jackson-Davis have both been listed as probable.
For the Thunder, six players have been listed as out for tomorrow’s clash: Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus strain), Jaylin Williams (heel bursitis), Ousmane Dieng (calf strain), Nikola Topic (testicular surgery), Thomas Sarber (torn ACL), and Brooks Barnhizer (G League two-way).
Considering that none of these players, other than Hartenstein, had carved out a solid role for themselves in the Thunder’s rotation, they will effectively still have all their star power and rotation players available for tomorrow’s game.
The Warriors (18-16) are going up against the Thunder (29-5) for the third time this season. In both their previous meetings, the Thunder won with a double-digit difference in the scoreline.
I estimate that if we do see Curry against the Thunder, then we may not see him against the Jazz on Saturday, as with a sprained ankle, playing consecutive games on back-to-back nights seems risky.
Therefore, considering that they are already resting Draymond Green for this game, I anticipate Curry will play eventually, but sit out the game against the Jazz.
