The Golden State Warriors have suffered back-to-back losses due to a multitude of reasons, with the primary one being that they were left without their top-four paid stars at the end of a six-game, nine-day trip to hostile arenas with no team practices. It concluded with a 96-110 loss to the Miami Heat.
But it looks like there’s some hope for the upcoming games as the Warriors head back to Chase Center, and some of their sidelined stars might be able to take the court again.
Warriors reporter Anthony Slater posted on X that four out of their five injured players have positive updates on their recovery.
“Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Buddy Hield are probable vs the Blazers tomorrow night. Steph Curry is cleared for return. Jonathan Kuminga remains out with knee tendinitis,” posted Slater last night.
While Curry will surely be back against the Blazers, three other veterans in Butler, Green, and Hield will likely also be back on the floor tonight. Butler was out with a back issue, while Green sat out due to an illness. Curry has been cleared after he went out with ankle soreness. No. 30 was sitting out the Heat game due to precautionary measures.
Buddy Hield has been playing with an undisclosed illness, and that could explain why he’s not playing at his full potential right now.
Injuries are also just a part of the problem for the Warriors. They are also giving up too many turnovers, even with their stars playing the game. In the loss to the Heat, when they did not have their experienced veterans, they gave up 34 points on 23 turnovers.
They were able to defend and out-rebound Miami, but it was not enough to balance out the poor shot-making and excessive turnovers. Against the Orlando Magic, though, they did have their veteran starters playing. But even then, they committed 18 turnovers that the Magic team converted into 21 points.
Head coach Steve Kerr tried a small-ball lineup with Curry, Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, and Al Horford as the anchor, but it was penetrated very easily by the Magic offense by keeping Horford away from the paint and exploiting the size difference.
It exposed their inability to defend against a physically demanding offense. They have a huge gap in size with other teams, and if the offense starts struggling just a little bit, they don’t have the defensive capabilities to offset that deficit.
The Warriors are set to play against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Chase Center tonight with Curry back in action. But will the bench live up to the expectations and contribute meaningfully?
Will Coach Kerr figure out the best possible action plan given that some valuable players are still out of the rotation due to injuries, and those playing are also suffering from one thing or another? Will Jonathan Kuminga find his way back to a starting position, or will he ride the bench with a $24 million salary?
There are a lot of questions around their upcoming games. But with Curry on the court, the Golden State Warriors always have ample hope.
