UPDATE: It turns out this injury will, indeed, keep Draymond Green off the floor. The Warriors have ruled their star forward out for Saturday’s game against the Hornets, officially diagnosing him with a sprained index finger. To go along with that, D’Angelo Russell may not be able to play, either.
Draymond Green will not play against the Hornets tonight. He sprained his left index finger vs Spurs. D’Angelo Russell is questionable because of a right ankle sprain. Skeleton crew.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 2, 2019
Golden State’s next game is on Monday, when they play host to the Portland Trail Blazers.
EARLIER: Every NBA team has to deal with injuries to one extent or another. Having said that, the hand that the Golden State Warriors have been dealt to start the 2019-20 NBA campaign has been quite brutal. Already dealing with the fact that much of their roster had to be reshaped this offseason, and Klay Thompson tore his ACL during the most recent NBA Finals, the Dubs saw Steph Curry go down with a broken hand earlier this week. The two-time league MVP is expected to miss at least three months.
Now, another piece the team has built around during its historic run is dealing with a knock. Draymond Green spoke to the media on Friday night following Golden State’s 127-110 loss to the San Antonio Spurs and took the mic with his hand in a wrap. As Green explained, he suffered an injury to the index finger on his left hand.
“I hurt my finger,” Green said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Ligament action. But it is what it is. … I don’t know [about Saturday]; we’ll see. It’s pretty sore. I couldn’t grip the ball the whole entire [game], probably since the second quarter, which is why I was making a lot of one-handed, right-handed passes and dribbling left with my right hand. I couldn’t really grip the ball, so we’ll see. Hopefully it will calm down a little bit overnight, but who knows?”
Friedell went onto say that the Warriors classified the injury as a sprained left index finger, and noted that it’s unclear if Green will need to undergo an MRI on his hand. There’s also no word on whether Green will suit up when Golden State takes the floor on Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets as part of a back-to-back.
It goes without saying but losing Green for any period of time would be an absolutely horrible turn of events for an already hobbled Warriors side. Head coach Steve Kerr told the press before the game that Green will be on something of a load management plan, citing a desire to not “run him into the ground,” but at least that would make Green’s availability something the team controls. We’ll keep you updated on whether this is the kind of thing that will keep Green from taking the floor while he gets his hand back to 100 percent.
