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The Golden State Warriors’ championship aspirations rely heavily on their vocal leader, Draymond Green. When they travel to LA to take on the Clippers on Thursday, they will be without Green. The NBA suspended Green indefinitely for his Flagrant 2 foul on the Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic on Tuesday.
Where does that leave the rest of the Warriors? Golden State is 11th in the Western Conference with a 10-13 record. If the postseason started today, the team wouldn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament.
The Warriors are a season and a half removed from a title, where Andrew Wiggins was undoubtedly the second-best player. Wiggins is arguably having the worst statistical season of his career.
He's averaging 12.1 points (career low) on 41.3% shooting, including 27.9% (career low) from the 3-point line. He's, however, good to go against the Clippers and will probably see an increase in production after playing just 15 minutes against the Suns.
Chris Paul is another key piece of the Golden State Warriors lineup and is fit to play on Thursday. He was brought in during the offseason with the hopes of making the bench better.
The Warriors started great but have since hit a slump. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and will need Paul to be at his best against a Clippers team that has won five straight.
Besides Green, Gary Payton II will miss the game with a calf injury. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Payton should be re-evaluated sometime this weekend.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green suspended indefinitely
The Warriors were up 65-60 in the third quarter against the Suns on Tuesday when Draymond Green was ejected for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
Green was just six games removed from a five-game suspension for chokeholding Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. The league announced Wednesday that it suspended Green indefinitely:
“Draymond Green has been suspended indefinitely for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face. … This outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts. … Green’s suspension will begin immediately. He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.”
When Green returns is anyone’s guess. With the team already struggling to stay afloat in the standings, Steph Curry will need all the help he can get to make the championship-caliber Golden State Warriors show up.
