The Golden State Warriors’ roster has been completely gutted by injuries. Already without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Al Horford, the Warriors took two more hits in Sunday’s lopsided 116-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Backup center Quinten Post had to go to the locker room within the first five minutes of the game after spraining his ankle while going for a layup against Nikola Jokic. He missed the layup and was in visible discomfort, limping his way off the court and into the locker room. He did not return for the rest of the game.
Post had already missed the previous three games due to foot issues. He had only two rebounds before calling it a night.
Additionally, De’Anthony Melton appeared to have injured his left hand. The 27-year-old, who had been carrying a heavy workload in Curry’s absence, was seen postgame wearing a sling on his left hand in the locker room.
Melton hasn’t looked like his usual self lately. He has scored zero points in two of the last three games, indicating that he may be playing through injuries.
On Sunday, he had a game-worst minus-29, finishing with zero points on 0-of-5 shooting and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, along with three assists and two turnovers against the Nuggets. Last week against the Mavericks, he also went scoreless, shooting 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from the three-point line.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr later specified that Melton has been playing through injury, which is affecting both his body and his performance.
“He’s banged up,” Kerr said, as reported by Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle. “His thumb is really bothering him and I think he’s pressing a bit. He’s dribbling into traffic… He’s had a great season. The last couple of games have been tough, but he’s been banged up, and we’ll help him get right.”
Golden State has dealt with a lot of injury adversity this season, testing the team’s depth. It’s very unlikely that the Warriors will move up to the eighth seed. The teams ahead of them are clearly better, and they must manage injuries that could derail a deep postseason run.
The Warriors are set to embark on a brief five-game stretch at home. If they want to turn around their fortunes, they will need their key players healthy and performing at their highest level in the final stretch.
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