The Golden State Warriors were out-classed by the shorthanded New York Knicks at Chase Center on Monday despite playing at full-strength. As pressure mounts with each loss to avoid falling out of the play-in tournament altogether, the 10th-place Dubs could be missing a couple key contributors the next time they take the floor.
Both Moses Moody (left knee soreness) and Draymond Green (lower back soreness) are listed as questionable to play in Golden State's game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
Moody was back in the rotation on Monday following a DNP-CD in Golden State's pivotal win over the Los Angeles Lakers 48 hours earlier. After Steve Kerr told ClutchPoints before the game that Moody's playing time would be decided on a “game-by-game” basis going forward, he entered to begin the second quarter as the Warriors' 10th and final rotation player against New York. Moody played seven straight minutes, hitting one of his two three-point attempts while also registering an assist and a steal, before heading to the bench out and later being ruled out for the game's remainder.
If the third-year wing is unavailable on Wednesday, expect former two-way player Lester Quinones to be dusted off for reserve minutes in the backcourt.
Draymond Green's history of back problems is becoming concern for Warriors
Green missed last week's road loss to the Dallas Mavericks with lower back soreness. The next day, the four-time champion shed more light on his ongoing back issue, connecting it to the injury that cost him a significant chunk of 2021-22 and left Green unable to jump the following summer.
“My back has been bothering me for like four or five games, and I've kinda been going through it. Like, just playing through it and playing through it. We have the absolute best training staff in the league; I put my money on that,” Green said on his eponymous podcast. “Third quarter or so, it just locks all the way back up and you're kinda grinding through the rest of the game, just trying to get to the end. Next day, not in a good space, can't really get on the court even if I wanna get some work in and kinda get it back in a good space to go back out there and play.
“And so the hope is that in not having a game since Monday for myself, and not playing in the Dallas game, that as opposed to getting it back to a place where it's like, ‘Alright, I can get out there now,' that those extra couple days will allow it to go away,” he continued. “Because it's just no fun just getting it to a space where I can get in the game and then it locks back up, and it's painful. And it's also has been kinda in that same area that I had the issue before. The way I view it is like, my body keeps giving me these warning shots. Listen to 'em before you have to listen to them and you can't do nothin.”
Clearly, Green and the Warriors are fully aware that a cautious approach to his lingering pain is most prudent. Back injuries are notoriously difficult to fully recover from without surgery, and Green didn't go under the knife in 2022 before or after helping Golden State win its fourth championship, instead relying on rest and rehabilitation to get right for 2022-23.
Don't be surprised if the 34-year-old sits against the decimated Grizzlies, paving the way for Trayce Jackson-Davis to start at center. Kevon Looney and Dario Saric—pulled from the nightly rotation two weeks ago—could also see the court versus Memphis with Green sidelined, as could reserve forward Gui Santos.
The Warriors, a game back of the ninth-place Lakers and three games in front of the 11th-place Houston Rockets, tipoff against the Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. (PT).
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