In a sign of how much Chris Paul has meant to the Warriors, they have a surprising +5.6 net rating this young season when both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are off the court.
That is reason for some optimism for Golden State as it is set to host Oklahoma City Thursday night because they will be without Curry due to a lingering right knee injury, and maybe Green as the team aways word on a possible suspension for his chokehold of Rudy Gobert.
Curry being out is official the team announced, adding the vague phrasing he will be re-evaluated later in the week.
Stephen Curry, who did not play in last night’s game against the Timberwolves due to a sore right knee, underwent an MRI yesterday afternoon to determine the extent of the injury.
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 15, 2023
The MRI did not reveal any structural damage. Stephen will not play in Thursday’s game against the… pic.twitter.com/VE4yNVte7E
The Warriors host the Thunder again on Saturday then the Rockets on Monday.
The Warriors are waiting to hear if Draymond Green will be available for those games.
A suspension for Green seems likely after he put the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert in a headlock/sleeper hold during an on-court scuffle that started between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels.
Draymond Green had Rudy Gobert in a sleeper hold pic.twitter.com/yivvAds10c
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 15, 2023
Green, Thompson and McDaniels were all ejected.
Considering Green’s history — he had been ejected 18 times previously in his career — a suspension in this case seems likely, the only question is how long (word likely comes down Wednesday night or Thursday morning). While the NBA can be hard to predict in these matters, and Green appeared to be on tilt the past couple of games, the most likely answer is two or three games. However, league disciplinarian Joe Dumars could go in a lot of different directions.
This would leave the Warriors without critical parts of their core for at least a game and maybe a few. The Warriors are off to a 6-6 start that finds them currently the eighth seed in what is expected to be a very tight Western Conference this season.
