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New open thread at https://dubnationhq.com/p/steph-injury-update-and-open-thread?s=w

Feel free to copy your latest comments over there as we do a mass depressed sigh of relief

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Curry being out makes playing Wiseman a lot harder imo, I don't know if they can afford to rest guys on some of these back to backs against lesser opponents if they are to hold onto the 3 seed. Will depend on the Mavs/Jazz/Nuggets too though.

If GP2/Iguodala/Draymond can get healthy then this team can hopefully still be elite enough defensively to go like 5-7? And then just hope Dallas/Denver/Utah don't win too much to overtake them? That Dinwiddie buzzer beater is a lot more annoying today than it was yesterday.

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I don't know if seeding matters w/o being healthy. Just don't drop to Playin. Being 6th is no different than 3rd but for not having HCA even in round #1.

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Health is the most important thing but seeding is #2. I would not sacrifice health for seeding in terms of overworking anyone, but I would personally definitely prioritize seeding over Wiseman's development.

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>>X-rays on the foot returned negative Wednesday night – meaning no fracture or major damage, a sigh of relief

So X-ray results are out but not MRI? I thought they did MRI last night

Also I am pissed, sad and whole bunch of other feelings. I have gone from "we have a shot at getting to WCF or more" to "will we end up in Play-ins" to '"lets just tank".

Ugh!

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MRIs are more complicated to read

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I want that info now 😭

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Well a quick google search said even a minor to moderate sprain usually takes 2-4 weeks. Thankfully we have Poole. Now let's hope Moody didn't get anything serious because we're going to need him

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Why nobody says anything about Moses?

https://twitter.com/nbcswarriors/status/1504288428812292105?s=21

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All I saw was Kerr saying "I don't know if he's getting an MRI but he hurt his right shoulder".

https://twitter.com/BayAreaSportsHQ/status/1504319045432012803

In context, it's unclear if Kerr was saying he wasn't sure if Moody was getting an MRI because it wasn't that severe or if he wasn't sure if Moody was getting an MRI because he hadn't talked to the training staff. My guess is probably the latter, honestly.

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No news yet. Does not look good to me though. From the replay that looks like a dislocation or sprain at the very least

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Me and my partially dislocated shoulder of yore shudder to think what a fully dislocated one could be like

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ31539Cg04

Still one of the dirtiest plays ever IMO. Sure it helped us on our quest but I hate to see this in basketball

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Because we know nothing?

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Put some ice on it. Rub some dirt on it. Walk it off. See you next game!

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Time for Poole to make TK eat his words.

And might as well see if JK can handle some point duties as well.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnTbalmv30A

Random clip of Mobley but man... his recovery is elite for a guy that big.

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Defense still broke down at the end though but they had to help on Embiid lol

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I think you guys are missing the big picture on the TK view that Poole is not a 20 mil player. TK is ownerships mouthpiece. He’s been very clearly on the view that as long as the team/s is winning he’ll praise said Team. Warriors obviously have had a plethora of that and he has Lacob a lot on his podcast.

The Warriors are going to have to pay a gruesome tax bill after next season and

if you listen to Tim a lot (I do because he’s actually a good interviewer) he’s made it a point to emphasize that Warriors ownership will not go over that 200 milly payroll (not something we didn’t know but defn emphasized consistently with TK).

So by him saying that Poole is not worth 20 bills a year, that’s either mgmt trying to suppress his value in a roundabout way to re-sign (less likely) or they really are doing the ground work now for any future trade or letting him walk as a free agent without getting a ton of blow back

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I think the working assumption is that JP3 slips into the Wiggins salary slot. Pretty clear the Dubs can't re-sign both and I'd rather have Poole. Especially since the Dubs are grooming 2 wings in Kuminga & Moody. Conversely, there's no true guards on the horizon, and its far from certain that Klay returns to pre-injury form.

If the reality is the Dubs can't resign either JP3 or Wiggins, then we'll just have to chalk that up to more costs being paid post-hoc for the 2015-2019 run. We've already paid, of course, because the team has very little flexibility to bring in FA's to complement Steph & Dray for the current run because of the $75 mm they pay annually to Klay & Wiggins.

Finally, I'd note that one of the express reasons for trading for DeLo was, as Myers said, to maintain that salary slot going forward. If the team has changed its mind and its simply going to sacrifice that slot, we're in for a disappointing few years. And, btw, there's no way the Dubs are doing the trade for an All-Star bit you've been running if we're downsizing payroll.

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> Finally, I'd note that one of the express reasons for trading for DeLo was, as Myers said, to maintain that salary slot going forward. If the team has changed its mind and its simply going to sacrifice that slot, we're in for a disappointing few years. And, btw, there's no way the Dubs are doing the trade for an All-Star bit you've been running if we're downsizing payroll.

Yup, I'm in agreement. The whole point of that move was the Warriors signaling that they were going survive losing KD by spending their way through it. It has felt like they pivoted somewhere along the way and have backed out from that plan imo.

I'm sure some fans will be forgiving of ownership if they let Wiggins and/or Poole leave for nothing but I definitely won't be. And they already let the Iguodala/Oubre salary slot expire so I think both of those scenarios are realistic.

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That’s a really unfair position, IMO. At the time they were preserving that salary spot with DLo, they didn’t know how Poole was going to blossom, nor did they know that they’d have two young wings that look like bonafide NBA starters/possible All Stars.

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They didn't know Poole was going to blossom when they didn't use the full TPMLE before last season.

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Yeah, I'm fine with letting Wiggins walk. He's great to have on the team, and I love his 2-way prowess. But he is massively overpaid and I just can't see how we afford the next contract. JP3 is another issue. Given the obvious inherent talent and the work ethic, I thin he's going to be a top 10 SG in the league for a decade; potentially an All-Star. I don't want to lose that.

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Would letting Wiggins walk be better for the team's future than trading Wiggins though?

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No. And, I'd seriously explore trading Wiggins. I just don't know what you get given the contract.

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I agree, but he'll be on an expiring contract after this season which makes his contract more tradeable. And if the Warriors are committed to Poole/Moody/Kuminga/Wiseman, then personally I would throw the 2022 first rounder in.

Although I guess we also gotta see where that 2022 first rounder ends up because it could conceivably end up in the low 20s instead of the high 20s after last night.

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Well fuck

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Well, better than break or fracture I guess

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Mar 17, 2022·edited Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Shams:

Warriors star Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a sprained ligament in left foot that will sideline him indefinitely, sources tell @TheAthletic. X-rays on the foot returned negative Wednesday night – meaning no fracture or major damage, a sigh of relief.

8:39 AM · Mar 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1504482554275008525?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

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Can't even make this shit up. We're just doing hockey substitutes on the injury/illness front at this point... WHAT DID WE DO TO ANGER YOU BASKETBALL GODS?! At least it's not a season ender though...

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author

No timeline, but no major damage

> Warriors star Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a sprained ligament in left foot that will sideline him indefinitely, X-rays on the foot returned negative Wednesday night – meaning no fracture or major damage, a sigh of relief.

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deletedMar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball
Comment deleted
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It sounds to me like they know where the damage is but they have to wait until the swelling goes down more to really know the severity and timeline. What grade of a sprain is it? They haven't said. I tend to think this is better news rather than worse news since if it was really bad they'd likely (hopefully?) indicate "but at least should be out x number of week." I'm assuming he'll be back for the playoffs at the very least.

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Draymond definitely got promoted to "no timetable" when the severity of the injury became apparent, which IMHO is the exact same thing as "out indefinitely".

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Expect “he will be re evaluated in so and so weeks” and use of the word ramping up alot

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this was my thought too. They are just sick of getting held to timetables that are flat out guesses

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Add Robert Williams III to the long and getting longer list of reasons Warriors drafted Wiseman. And they didn't draft him for last year or this year. They needed an equal sized chess piece on the board for the next decade. With Wiggs, Andre & GP2 out, isn't that 3 of our best 5 or 6 defenders? Also, the Warriors have shown vulnerability early in post season play. However bad a game 1 or 2 may look, the Dubs have been great at making adjustments. They may have looked over-matched at times, but they tend to figure out teams in a series. Boston ain't bad, btw.

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Robert Williams was drafted late in the first round (supposed Warriors target too). No one on here argued for not needing a Center. Many of us simply argued that you don’t need to draft a traditional C second overall. Also on a semi related note. RW was nearly unplayable his first couple years in the league, marginal his third.

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We made it through Grayson Allen safely but unfortunately not Smart. Yeah yeah hustle play not dirty yeah yeah whatever. He's still an idiot

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Too bad all of that hustle never got him and his team to the Finals

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Lol Jordan Schultz reported a sprained toe from Steph. That dude has reported a bunch of bogus news in the NFL world

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Yeah and now he's getting signal boost from aggregator accounts.

I'm waiting for something from somebody we know as more connected to the Warriors. Literally never heard of that ESPN guy

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He might be right in this instance though.. who knows. Going to wait to hear an official word from the team though.

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I mean, if he flat out guesses and gets it right then he's a genius with amazing inside info. If he guesses and gets it wrong no one is going to pay him much attention. Seems like a low risk, high reward move on his part!

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Mar 17, 2022Liked by punk basketball

Teams will often leak info like "team fears player XXX lost for season" or "team hopes injury isn't serious" based on physical examination prior to MRI results are ready. Been peeking to see if there's been anything like that and as far as I can tell there's nothing.

Usually they have to wait for swelling to subside before doing an MRI to get a "clean" image. That suggests to me (IANAD) that there wasn't a lot of swelling.

I guess we'll find out later today what's what. Here's hoping...

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As an optimistic homer with zero inside information and no medical training I'll go ahead and say it didn't look particularly worrisome to me. He got up on his own, limped around a little bit, and then jogged off? What could possibly be wrong, right?

Merely a flesh wound.

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Mar 17, 2022·edited Mar 17, 2022

Holding breath and crossing all appendages for Steph ... but if there's no fracture (ugh) or serious bone bruise, I think a week or two off at this point in the season could actually do him some real good. I had been a little jealous at how fresh KD and Kyrie have been looking after all their time on the shelf, and wondering how we could steal a little pre-playoff break for Steph. Sometimes "forced layoffs" can be hugely beneficial (ditto for Dray$).

Downside to a couple weeks' break would be that we might slip to #4, but that's not the worst scenario ever, either. We're probably gonna have to face Phoenix at some point anyway; whether it's Phoenix in the second round and Memphis in the WCF or vice-versa doesn't make that much of difference to me. Heck, even snagging #2 and having to face Minnesota (or a Kawhi-recharged Clippers, or even an AD-recharged LOLakers) would not be a picnic.

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For what it's worth (about nothing at a time like this), facing the Lakers looks extremely unlikely because the 9/10 seeds could only face the 1 seed.

While getting bounced in the playoffs without Curry to any team would be frustrating, it'd probably be especially frustrating if it was against the Lakers so I'm thankful that scenario (knock on wood) won't happen at least.

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Mar 17, 2022·edited Mar 17, 2022

Ah, good point. The #7 seed is basically locked in at this point as the MIN-LAC winner (with I guess an outside chance of DEN or DAL if the Wolves pass one of them). The #8 seed could be any of DEN, DAL, MIN, LAC, LAL, NO, POR, SA, or even SAC.

In any case, seeding doesn’t matter that much, certainly not relative to the team being healthy when the playoffs start.

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I don't look forward to playing any of those teams with our current iteration which hasn't played up to their potential in quite awhile excepting the odd game or two. But, I agree with you about Curry. He's had problems since he won the all time 3 ball award. Now, let's hope Draymond can work himself back quickly. He will probably get the start next game.

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So assuming that Steph and Moses are both not seriously injured...

I actually think there were some positive takeaways from the game.

Boston played really well. I don't think they could have played much better. BUT, with that said... it wasn't the Celtics that won the game, so much as the Warriors lost it, IMHO. Even with the Celtics' stellar defense, through most of the game the Warriors kept the ball moving, kept within the flow of their offense, and got open shots. Dare I say, most of them were good looking threes that we'd be happy to have the players taking. The players just missed them.

Klay was rushing things a bit when he felt like he had to take over the game. Steph being in longer certainly would have helped. I try not to blame things on the refs, but they clearly weren't doing the Warriors any favors. But when it comes down to it, the Warriors missed their shots. Not tough, contested shots, but fairly open shots that they should make.

Yes, the final score was a blowout, and the game didn't really feel close most of the time, but I don't think that the Celtics really "figured out" the Warriors. They bothered the Warriors, yes, but if the Warriors shoot at a regular percentage they either win the game, or at least it's a whole lot closer. (Yes, I understand that the Celtics defense had something to do with them shooting at a lower percentage. They basically entirely took away the inside game most of the time).

Grasping at straws for a positive? Maybe. But as many of us have said, the only team that can beat the Warriors is the Warriors. Nothing I saw last night changed my mind about that. The Warriors still beat the Celtics in a seven game series, which is all I really care about at this point (beyond health!).

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I agree. The Warriors got it down to 8 points early in the 4Q, which made it anybody’s ball game. But with no Curry/Wiggs/GP2/Bjelly, Klay chucking, nearly everyone missing and them being so thin that our G-Leaguers were playing key minutes, a win wasn’t in the cards.

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I didn’t like the strategy double Tatum so quickly… especially with two players shorter than him. It made the game so simple for the Celtics.

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One very positive takeaway is that the Warriors are not in the Eastern Conference lol, there isn't a team in the West that would look like the Celtics or Heat defensively in the playoffs.

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As if Boston didn’t need anything more to further their despicableness as a sports city.

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Mar 17, 2022·edited Mar 17, 2022

One of my colleagues in NYC, upon learning that I was half-Boston / half-Bay in my sports allegiances (Warriors, Red Sox, Pats, Cal) shook his head and said "ugh, Boston and the Bay Area — the two most annoying fanbases in the world!"

I just flashed him all our rings. :-)

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As a lifelong Bills fan bullied and scarred by the Pats since I was little and cute, we can’t be friends.

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