If you don’t count his seven second cameo in Klay Thompson’s return on January 9, Draymond Green has missed the last eight games with a calf / back issue. According to longtime NBA journalist Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated, he could be out quite a bit longer.
“I talked to him last week,” Spears told KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” on Tuesday. “He had initially a calf injury that he expected to go away and maybe be able to play on that last road trip, but they eventually found out it was also a back issue, a disc issue. Which is certainly very, very scary especially for players that get older. Or any player for that matter.
“So, now we are about a week away from an update, but I’m kind of hearing grumblings that there is no light at the end of the tunnel right now, which certainly is a scary thing for Draymond and the Warriors.”
Draymond is scheduled to be re-evaluated on January 30 with what the Warriors have officially termed “left calf soreness/tightness tied to the involvement of a disc in his lower back.” The loss off Green has affected the Warriors significantly on the court. In those nine games, the Warriors are 5-4 and have fallen 3.5 games behind the Suns for first place in the Western Conference. Though he was the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year before the injury, Golden State’s offense has looked particularly disjointed without Green running the show.
“He is certainly the heart and soul of the team, not only defensively but I think now with some of the struggles that Curry is having, you see what he does offensively that makes it easier for Curry to do what he does,” Spears continued. “And the rest of the offense with his passes, and extremely high basketball IQ.”
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