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The Golden State Warriors were dealt double blows during their Tuesday night matchup against the Boston Celtics. The Dubs fell short of defending homecourt, losing to a relatively close one to the C's, 107-111. But they also lost another big man to an ankle injury – this time center Kevon looney.
Steve Kerr said he doesn't expect Kevon Looney to play in the next couple games. Sprained left ankle. So no centers to open the Texas road trip.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 3, 2021
This follows after earlier reports of promising rookie James Wiseman already set to miss a handful of contests. The youngster suffered a sprained right wrist against the Detroit Pistons with a recovery timetable of 7-10 days. Wiseman was starting to thrive in his bench role, before being forced to miss the first games of his young career.
With Kevon Looney on the mend, the Warriors are in a perilous position when it comes to their frontcourt. The Warriors have historically found success with Draymond Green acting as a small-ball 5 for Golden State's death lineups. However, Green has taken quite a step back this season, especially with his rebounding. The former Defensive Player of the Year is averaging just 4.6 rebounds per game this season, which is the lowest of his career since his rookie season in 2012-13.
This becomes extra troublesome because even with Looney and Wiseman in the lineup, the Warriors were already the worst rebounding team in the league. Take away your two viable options at the 5 and you're staring at a wide rebounding margin for the foreseeable future.
The rebounding issue already popped up in their loss against the Celtics. The Warriors were outrebounded 51-36, and were doubled-up on the offensive glass.
Steve Kerr is going to have to get creative if the Warriors hope to mitigate the issue for their upcoming Texas road trip. The Warriors face the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs in back-to-back road sets starting Thursday night.
