The Golden State Warriors have not been playing with the ideal starting lineup. How could they have their preferred team with Draymond Green’s back-to-back suspensions? Albeit they won a couple of games initially in the regular season, the five-game suspension of Green really ruined the momentum of the whole team. Moreover, their shooting guard, Klay Thompson, has not been at his best this season. However, the Dubs don’t have their whole team completely healthy and ready just yet. They will need to deal with the absence of Draymond Green and pray that when he gets back, he avoids such suspensions anymore.
At least until the ongoing season gets over. They are still a long way from making the postseason. Once they do it, that’s when things get tricky. Last season, the GSW lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. It was one of those rarest occasions when the GSW could not win the conference semi-finals since the dynasty began in 2015. That’s why the Warriors need all of their players healthy and ready from here on. Recently, the Dubs provided an injury update on Gary Payton II.
Warriors Will Re-Evaluate Gary Payton II Next Week
As per the Golden State Warriors, they will re-evaluate Gary next week. At Sacramento on November 28, the Dubs guard suffered a right calf strain. Since then, the guard missed nine games on the trot. Recently, the GSW re-evaluated him. The examination proved that the guard was recovering well and at good speed. That’s the reason why the Warriors have allowed Gary to participate in different parts of team practice. Early next week, the guard will undergo another re-evaluation. Albeit, the team is gradually learning to play and win without both Dray Green and Gary Payton II.
Gary Payton II injury update: pic.twitter.com/0FERNAeEgI
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) December 21, 2023
It is only time when the rest of the team will feel fatigue. And then they might injure themselves after doing all the defensive work themselves that generally those two would do. Hence, the Warriors would like Gary Payton to join the lineup as soon as possible. The 14 games he played this season, Gary averaged 5.9 points per game and grabbed 3.1 rebounds, along with 1.2 steals. His contributions go way beyond numbers as Gary is another glue guy in the league.
Dubs Depend Too Heavily On Steph Curry
The Dubs are sorely depending on the one-man army, that’s Stephen Curry. Without Curry, the seven-time champions might lose all hope. As they did play two games without their main man. The Warriors lost both games without Green and Curry. Klay Thompson alone could not help his team win.
Moreover, the Warriors have dropped to the bottom seeds in the Western Conference at present. Currently, they are the 11th seed in the West. But they were in a much worse condition three games before. After the first 24 games of this regular season, they were 10-14. But at present, the Dubs have made it 13-14. Thanks to the duo of Thompson and Curry, the Warriors won three back-to-back games.
