Injury update: everyone is still injured

Can these maniacs keep winning? Streaking Warriors host Pistons.

Jan 4

Can the short-handed Golden State Warriors keep their win streak alive? They’ve been doing the improbable, winning without Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins - and a bunch of other guys. We got an injury update prior to their last game (a thrilling double OT win over the Atlanta Hawks), but unfortunately/fortunately it is just more of the status quo. The bad news is that no fresh legs are coming back. The good news is that this roster is somehow gelling and learning to win without access to their most potent weapon.

But for the immediate future, it’s just a bummer that Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green all remain out for the Warriors tonight. Still, at 10-30, the Detroit Pistons are literally the worst team in the NBA; and given the gritty excellence the Warriors have unearthed? Let’s go!

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (20-18) vs Detroit Pistons (10-30)

WHEN: Wednesday January 4th, 2022 // 7pm PDT

WATCH: NBCSBA; NBATV

Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors

"My tank is on E, Bob" 😂

Injury updates and timelines

There’s a lot of uncertainty in any return but there’s so much going on that even a basketball nerd like me is having trouble keeping track of it all. Ahead of the previous game, coach Steve Kerr gave a bunch of small updates on everything going on. It was right before the game though, and a lot of it was lost in the cannon roar of approval coming off the win afterwards.

Here’s the full answer:

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Long injury update from Steve Kerr *Andrew Wiggins fell ill again, stalling his return again *Jonathan Kuminga’s foot swelled up. Sounds like a multi-game absence. *No timetables on James Wiseman (ankle) or JaMychal Green (infection). Still out.

Curry is the biggest deal of course. As the best player on the team, he’s also the most important. The initial injury happened back on December 14th, with the team saying ten days later that timeline for his injury to be reassessed would be coming on January 7th. Recently, Kerr revealed on the radio that Curry has “been doing a lot of stuff on the court.” The 7th is just two games out - it will be the Orlando magic.

So by the next game Golden State will likely be zeroing in on Curry’s return. Presumably they’d want him to run through a practice or two prior to hitting the court for real. My completely biased guess would be to have his return on the 10th against the Phoenix Suns (my second game at Chase).

This is Wiggins’ 15th missed game. He felt good enough to participate in a team scrimmage and was even anticipated to play, but apparently got sick again (or was never all the way better and toughing it out). I think that there’s just so much uncertainty here, everyone has no choice but to live in the cliche and take it one day at a time.

Next man down in order of importance is probably Kuminga. He’s also on an indeterminate timeline for return. It’s a weird one, because he played throughout his last game. Ahh, the mystical power of youth, eh?

“Really kinda swelled up on him after the game,” Kerr said. “He’ll be out – we’ll see how long – but it's one of those things where you don’t want to rush him back and make it worse. We’ll have an update in a few days.”

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

Jonathan Kuminga in a boot. Right foot swelled up after the last game. Sounds like a multi game absence is expected. Team calling it a sprain. Return will depend on how quickly it responds to treatment.

James Wiseman is another player that sort of magically appeared on the injury report. His comes from a practice mishap. As a 7-footer with a leg injury history, expect everyone to be a little extra cautious regarding Wiseman’s return. He’s out for tonight, and beyond that is anyone’s guess.

Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater

James Wiseman's ankle roll came in a 3-on-3 scrimmage late last week in practice and was significant enough to keep him off the court into this week. Didn't participate in shootaround today. Got some treatment. Kerr expects him to miss Wednesday's game.

Then we are down to the “we’ll let you know” guys. Andre Iguodala remains out with no formal timeline, but he’s ramping up!

C.J. Holmes 🚀 @CjHolmes22

Andre Iguodala scrimmaged today. However, still no timetable for when he'll make his season debut.

Green is the weirdest of the bunch. When there’s such a dearth of information, I find it best to forward along the information without any analysis. I don’t understand how it can be not serious, and so long term, but that’s what it is. Hoping for the best.

95.7 The Game @957thegame

Steve Kerr on JaMychal Green (leg infection): "Poor guy has gone through a rough couple of weeks. … It’s nothing serious but it’s enough to keep him out right now."

Palate cleanser / Prediction

Anyone see that The Menu movie? Freaky and great! Anyways, let’s have some mental tea and get rid of that nasty mood poisoning by taking a bit of space here to celebrate this win streak the Warriors are on.