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Warriors Notes: Klay, Green, Kerr, Curry

March 28th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors reserve shooting guard Klay Thompson turned in a masterful 28-point performance in Golden State’s 113-92 road victory over the Heat on Tuesday, when he returned to the team’s starting lineup ahead of standout rookie Brandin Podziemski. Anthony Slater of The Athletic makes the case for Thompson, who had been on the bench for the Warriors since the middle of last month, to remain in the first five after his big night.

“Get a little more spacing on the floor to start the game,” head coach Steve Kerr said of his decision to elevate Thompson. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s permanent. Just felt like tonight it was important.”

Thompson did indeed start the next game, a 101-93 win over the Magic. He scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field.

According to Slater, prior to the Orlando game, the team’s five-man starting lineup of Thompson, All-Star point guard Stephen Curry, forwards Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, and small-ball center Draymond Green in these two Florida games has outscored opponents by a margin of 55 points, across 157 minutes.

There’s more out of the Chase Center:

Green was ejected from Wednesday’s Warriors game against the Magic after less than four minutes on the floor, as the result of an exchange with referee Ray Acosta over a foul call. Curry and Kerr both weighed in on the impact of Green’s ejection, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “We need him,” Curry said. “He knows that. We all know that… So whatever we need to do to keep him on the floor and be available, that’s what’s got to happen. Especially at this point in the year. It was a tough way to start the game.” Kerr offered similar sentiments: “It was unfortunate. He deserved it. He’ll bounce back.” After the contest, crew chief Mitchell Ervin explained that the choice was not influenced by Green’s lengthy history of suspensions in the past.
One “influential” Warriors source seemed relatively unfazed by Green’s early ejection on Wednesday, Slater writes in another Athletic story. “What?” the source said. “Did we really just expect he was never gonna get ejected again?”
After the fact, Green seemed to agree with Kerr’s assessment of the ejection, according to ESPN. “I said what I said,” Green noted on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show. “I deserved to be kicked out at that point. If I’m all the way honest with y’all, kind of was trying to turn my body and angle it to go to the bench, but I said what I said a little too soon before angling my body.”

Warriors’ Draymond Green Ejected Wednesday In Orlando

March 27th, 2024 at 7:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into Wednesday’s matchup with the Magic in Orlando after an argument with official Ray Acosta, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

NBC Sports Bay Area has a video (Twitter link) of the incident. Green wasn’t even directly involved in the play — he was arguing a foul that was called on Andrew Wiggins against Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, who converted an and-one layup with 8:24 remaining in the first period.

Several members of the Warriors — including Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Brandin Podziemski — went over to Green as he continued to complain to Acosta. As Green was heading back to the bench, he had some choice words for the official, and he received his second technical foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.

Curry was visibly emotional after Green was ejected, per NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter video link).

Green’s latest incident comes at a critical time in the season for the Warriors, who hold a one-game lead on the red-hot Rockets for the final spot in the Western Conference’s play-in tournament. Both teams have 11 games remaining on their regular season schedules.

The Warriors were already playing without third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga on Wednesday — the second of a back-to-back — against a Magic team that has gone 18-6 over its past 24 games. According to Slater, head coach Steve Kerr said Kuminga is dealing with knee tendinitis, describing it as a minor issue (Twitter link). Kerr expects Kuminga to be active Friday in Charlotte.

It’s also a noteworthy development because it’s Green’s first ejection since his indefinite suspension back in December for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face. That wound up being a 12-game ban, and Green missed another four while working himself back into shape. He was also suspended five games earlier in the season for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock.

Green has now received 10 technical fouls in 2023/24, according to Spotrac, with six (including the two today) coming after his last suspension. For today’s ejection, he’ll be fined a total of $6,000 — $3,000 for each technical.

NBA players receive an automatic one-game suspension when they reach 16 technical fouls, so Green has a little wiggle room below that threshold. Still, the fact that he lost his cool again in a crucial game obviously isn’t ideal for Golden State.

On a more positive note, rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis returned from a one-game absence due to knee soreness and immediately went into the starting lineup in the frontcourt alongside Green, notes ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (via Twitter). Klay Thompson also made his second straight start after a big game on Tuesday in Miami.

For what it’s worth, the Warriors led the Magic at halftime, 45-37.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Jackson-Davis, Looney, Next Season

March 26th, 2024 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The offensive burden on Stephen Curry is greater than ever, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. The Warriors currently don’t have a steady No. 2 scoring option and they’re 18-20 this season when Curry scores fewer than 30 points.

“We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game after game,” coach Steve Kerr said, adding, “… We’ve put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years.”

We have more on the Warriors:

In a subscriber-only story, Kerr tells The Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak how former Indiana University star Trayce Jackson-Davis has impacted the team in his first season. “Trayce is just incredibly mature for a rookie,” Kerr said. “He’s a little bit like the bigs who came into the league way back when I came in. Lots of college experience. Already grounded in the fundamentals of the game. It’s easy to throw stuff at him, sort of NBA stuff that he hasn’t seen before and expect him to pick up on it because he’s got this great fundamental base.” The second-rounder is averaging 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 14.9 minutes through 57 games. He missed Tuesday’s game in Miami due to knee soreness, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Kevon Looney said he learned valuable lessons from Dejan Milojevic, the assistant who died suddenly in January. “Deki was a great coach. He was brutally honest, but he always had a smile on his face,” Looney told Hoops Hype’s Sam Yip. “He’s always joyful. He made coming into work that much better, and that much more fun. I had the best years of my career learning from him, learning different footwork, learning the different nuances of offensive rebounding, and learning how to finish. He wasn’t the biggest guy, but he scored a lot of points overseas, he was one of the best scorers in his league, and he was undersized. So he taught me different things about leverage, pump-fakes, angles, and different things like that.”
While the Warriors haven’t given up this season, they may be looking at next season to make one last push for another championship with this core group, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic opines.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Dinwiddie, Carlisle, Clippers

March 25th, 2024 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry was on the bench for nearly an 11-minute stretch Sunday night as the Warriors dropped a crucial game in Minnesota, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Curry checked out of the game with four minutes remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return until midway through the fourth quarter. He scored 31 points in 30 minutes, but Golden State couldn’t recover as its lead slipped to one game over Houston in the battle for the final play-in spot.

“We can’t expect to just ride Steph game after game after game,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years. We can’t expect him to play 35 minutes … If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is a difference between a win and a loss, I totally disagree with that. We’re trying to win the game. And we’re trying to keep him fresh, too.”

Kerr was determined to not overwork Curry after he played 35 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter, in Friday’s loss to Indiana. Curry said he wants to play as much as he’s “fresh and able to,” but he didn’t question Kerr’s decision.

“The situation will define itself in real-time,” he said. “Every game matters as we’re inching closer to the other end of the standings we never thought we would be in. No one is going to wave the white flag and say we are mailing it in. If that means playing more minutes, I’ll be ready to do that.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

With D’Angelo Russell sidelined by an illness, Spencer Dinwiddie made his second start since joining the Lakers and delivered 26 points in a win over Indiana. He talked to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter video link) about finding a role in L.A. after signing with the team last month. “It’s just about reading the room and understanding you’re a part of something bigger,” Dinwiddie said.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle became the latest opponent to complain about a foul discrepancy after playing the Lakers, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. L.A. shot 38-of-43 from the free throw line in the five-point victory, while Indiana was just 9-of-16. “There were certain things that were impossible to overcome,” Carlisle said. “The 27-free-throw differential is one. The 17-foul differential is the other. And I’ll leave it at that.”
The Clippers are in danger of squandering home court in the first round after losing Sunday to the shorthanded Sixers, notes Kevin Baxter of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. is just a half-game ahead of fifth-place New Orleans. “We talk about it every day,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “Not taking shortcuts and doing it the right way. And so I think they’re frustrated as well. I mean, it’s embarrassing. When you come in minus Joel Embiid, (Nicolas Batum) sits out tonight and you’re playing at home, you have to take advantage of those type of things. You keep talking about it. But at some point, you’ve got to do it.”

Pacific Notes: Davis, Russell, Thomas, Gordon, Curry, Green

March 16th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers center Anthony Davis was forced to leave Saturday night’s game against Golden State because of an eye contusion, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The injury occurred in the first half when Davis was accidentally hit in the face by Trayce Jackson-Davis while making a layup. He was able to play a few more minutes, but was eventually removed and declared out for the second half.

Davis suffered from impaired vision and his eye was swollen shut, a source tells McMenamin (Twitter link). He will be monitored tonight and Sunday before a determination is made about whether he can play Monday against Atlanta.

While there’s no indication that this will be a long-term injury, ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that Davis is just shy of the 65-game minimum needed to qualify for postseason awards and All-NBA honors (Twitter link). He was at 64 games before tonight, including the finals of the in-season tournament, but he only played 12 minutes and the league requires at least 15 for the game to count toward the total.

Davis is averaging 24.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 blocks, so he’s a strong candidate for one of the All-NBA teams if he qualifies.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

D’Angelo Russell‘s $18.7MM player option for next season gives him a lot of leverage in deciding his future this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (video link). Russell has become a major part of the Lakers‘ offense during the second half of the season, averaging 22 PPG and shooting 44% from long distance over the past 27 games. Wojnarowski points out that if L.A. wants to make a significant trade at the draft, the organization may need Russell to pick up his option and agree to go wherever he’s dealt.
Isaiah Thomas, who’s joining the Suns on a 10-day contract, is expected to eventually receive a standard deal to fill the team’s final roster spot, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Gambadoro doesn’t expect the 35-year-old guard to become part of the rotation, but he’ll serve as insurance heading into the postseason.
Eric Gordon was able to play 22 minutes on Friday night after missing the Suns‘ previous two games with a left knee contusion, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Rankin expects Gordon, Royce O’Neale, Bol Bol and Drew Eubanks to form the core of Phoenix’s second unit for the rest of the season.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both returned for Saturday’s game, giving the Warriors a fully healthy roster for the first time since November, observes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Curry missed three games this week with a sprained right ankle, and Green sat out Wednesday’s contest due to lower back stiffness. “I still believe we’re very capable of rattling off a string of victories, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen above you,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Pacific Notes: D-Lo, Schröder, Curry, Kings, Hyland, Harden

March 15th, 2024 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

While D’Angelo Russell had some good moments for the Lakers in last year’s playoffs, he also struggled mightily in the Western Conference Finals against the eventual champion Nuggets, leading to him being benched in Game 4 in favor of Dennis Schröder, a superior defender who had a preexisting relationship with head coach Darvin Ham. Russell, on the other hand, was acquired in a trade last February, meaning he’d only known Ham for a few months.

Russell claims he was “the scapegoat” for that series, which saw Denver sweep Los Angeles, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“(Schröder’s) relationship with Darvin is the reason I couldn’t have a relationship with Darvin,” Russell said. “When I was struggling, I would’ve been able to come to the coach and say, ‘Bro, this is what we should do. Like, I can help you.’ Instead, there was no dialogue. … I just accepted it.

“And we got swept and I’m here and he’s not. And I like our chances.”

As McMenamin writes, Russell initially wasn’t enthusiastic about re-signing with L.A. as a free agent last summer, apparently in part due to the presence of Schröder. But on the first day of free agency, the Lakers wound up signing Gabe Vincent and Schröder signed with Toronto (he has since been traded to Brooklyn). Russell inked a two-year deal with the Lakers the following day.

The Lakers and Russell reached a compromise on that contract — he got a player option for 2024/25, but he also waived his ability to veto a trade.

Russell was featured prominently in trade rumors for months leading up to last month’s deadline, McMenamin notes, but the Lakers wound up keeping him because he’s been playing so well of late — since January 13, a span of 27 games (36.1 MPG), the 28-year-old is averaging 21.9 PPG, 6.4 APG and 3.2 RPG with a highly efficient .472/.452/.840 shooting line.

If he maintains that level of play in the postseason, Russell could very well decline his $18.7MM player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent again in 2024.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

For his part, former Lakers guard Schröder said he was confused by Russell’s comments, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I don’t understand it,” the German veteran said. “But at the end of the day, it just shows off immaturity. You’re not really mature if you’re just keeping somebody’s name in his mouth and just running it. I don’t understand.” Ham also responded to Russell’s comments from McMenamin’s article, saying their relationship “is in a great place,” as Jovan Buha of The Athletic relays in a Twitter thread. “We have great conversations,” Ham said. “Great text exchanges after games. During the game our in-game conversations. … It’s tough. That’s why the phrase is called ‘building a relationship.’”
The Warriors expect star guard Stephen Curry to return to action on Saturday vs. the Lakers, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Curry, who has missed the past three games with a right ankle sprain, said “that’s the plan” when asked if he was going to suit up tomorrow, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda (Twitter link).
Kings guard Keon Ellis was in the starting lineup the past two games, and his defense on Damian Lillard and Russell was critical in both victories, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Sacramento knows it needs to continue to play strong defense to have a shot at advancing out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years, Patterson adds.
The Kings are now 6-0 when Ellis starts. Will he continue to start going forward? Head coach Mike Brown sounded pretty skeptical about that possibility, per James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter video link). However, Brown said the second-year guard could finish games at times, similar to Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner Malik Monk.
With James Harden out with a shoulder injury, Clippers guard Bones Hyland made the most of his opportunity in Thursday’s victory over the Bulls, observes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Hyland, who was often left open due to the attention paid to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, recorded 17 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), 11 assists, five rebounds and four steals in 32 minutes. Harden will miss his second straight game on Friday, though head coach Tyronn Lue said the former MVP is “feeling better,” tweets Law Murray of The Athletic.

Injury Notes: Mitchell, White, Luka, Green, Curry

March 13th, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously being listed as questionable, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday following a seven-game absence, as first reported by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).

Mitchell has been dealing with a left knee bone bruise that required a PRP injection to promote healing. He would have been in strong contention for an All-NBA team, but he missed his 18th game of the 2023/24 season on Monday, and is no longer eligible for postseason awards.

Led by a strong performance from Darius Garland and excellent team three point shooting (20-45, 44.4%), the Cavs were victorious in Mitchell’s return, defeating New Orleans by 21 points.

Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls guard Coby White, one of the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player award, was injured after having his shot blocked by Pascal Siakam with about 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s overtime victory over Indiana (Twitter video link). After the game, head coach Billy Donovan called it a hip injury and said White would undergo additional testing, but the fifth-year guard appeared to be in good spirits in the locker room, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays (Twitter links).
Mavericks star Luka Doncic exited Wednesday’s victory over Golden State late in the fourth quarter and was later ruled out with left hamstring soreness, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear if the MVP candidate will miss additional time with the injury.
Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ruled out for Wednesday’s loss due to lower back soreness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. On a brighter note, two-time MVP Stephen Curry practiced with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday and will join Golden State in Los Angeles for Friday’s practice before determining whether he’ll face the Lakers on Saturday, head coach Steve Kerr told Slater and other media members (Twitter link).

Latest On Stephen Curry

March 12th, 2024 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing on Saturday that Stephen Curry would miss at least two games due to his sprained right ankle, the Warriors provided an update on their two-time MVP on Tuesday, issuing a press release (via Twitter) stating that he has been cleared for on-court workouts.

Curry, who injured his ankle last Thursday vs. Chicago, was unavailable for a pair of games vs. the Spurs on Saturday and Monday and has been ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup with the Mavericks. According to Golden State, he’s expected to join the team in Los Angeles for practice on Friday and will be reevaluated again following that practice.

After Wednesday’s contest in Dallas, Golden State will be in action on Saturday vs. the Lakers, and it sounds as if Curry might be able to return for that game, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. If that’s the case, it would be great news for the Warriors, who are battling for play-in positioning and currently trail L.A. by one game for the No. 9 seed in the West.

Curry hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks, making just 37.0% of his shots from the field, including 32.8% of his threes, over his past 10 games. However, his season-long numbers remain strong — he has averaged 26.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game across 59 starts, with a .449/.407/.920 shooting line.

The 15-year veteran, who will turn 36 this Thursday, needs to play in six more games to be eligible for end-of-season awards, including All-NBA. If he doesn’t return on Saturday in Los Angeles, his next opportunity to play would be in the Bay Area next Monday as the Warriors open a three-game home stand by hosting the Knicks.

Warriors Confirm Stephen Curry Suffered Sprained Right Ankle

March 9th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

An MRI showed no structural damage to Stephen Curry‘s right ankle and the injury has been diagnosed as a sprain, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). He will miss games against San Antonio tonight and Monday and will be reevaluated Tuesday.

The injury occurred late in Thursday’s contest when Curry rolled the ankle while cutting to the basket. He limped to the locker room to have it checked out and didn’t return to the game.

A report on Friday indicated that Curry is expected to miss seven-to-10 days, but that could be adjusted depending on the results of Tuesday’s examination.

Curry has appeared in 59 of Golden State’s first 62 games and doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing the 65-game limit to be considered for All-NBA honors and other postseason awards. He’s been putting up typically outstanding numbers, averaging 26.9 points per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range.

The Warriors are locked in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament and need every win they can get to track down sixth-place Phoenix. Chris Paul is expected to take over the starting point guard duties until Curry can return.

Injury Notes: Curry, LeBron, Wembanyama, Brunson

March 8th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Rory Maher

A league source who spoke to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area said there’s an expectation Stephen Curry will likely miss seven-to-10 days (Twitter link). The Warriors‘ two-time MVP rolled his right ankle late in Thursday’s loss to Chicago and was unable to return to the game, with an MRI reportedly coming back clean.

If that timeline is accurate, Curry would likely miss at least three games, and possibly a fourth next Saturday vs. the Lakers. We won’t know that for sure until we see how the 35-year-old heals over the coming days, but Curry has already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest vs. San Antonio, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Lakers superstar LeBron James will be sidelined for Friday’s home game vs. Milwaukee, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays. The 39-year-old has been dealing with left ankle soreness for several weeks, and will miss his ninth game of the season against the Bucks after previously being listed as questionable. Prior to the game, head coach Darvin Ham said James was experiencing “severe soreness” in the ankle and is considered “day-to-day,” per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter links). The ongoing injury will reportedly have to be managed for the remainder of the season, though there’s an expectation that James won’t need to miss extended time.
After spraining his right ankle against Houston on Tuesday, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama missed Thursday’s loss in Sacramento and has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest in San Francisco, but head coach Gregg Popovich thinks the Rookie of the Year frontrunner will be ready to go for Monday’s home game vs. Golden State, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter links). As Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscriber link), Wembanyama rode in a van back to San Antonio to be evaluated — in part due to its proximity to Houston — instead of traveling on the road trip. The Spurs are 0-7 thus far this season without their best player.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson was able to return to action on Friday vs. Orlando after missing Tuesday’s loss to Atlanta with a knee contusion, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. The All-Star point guard sustained the injury less than a minute into Sunday’s victory over Cleveland, but it thankfully turned out to be relatively minor. Brunon, 27, has missed five games thus far in 2023/24, putting him in strong contention for a spot on his first All-NBA team.