The Golden State Warriors have missed a combined 81 man games to injury during their first 14 games of the season. Prior to Sunday's game against the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans, who are the next closest with 49 absences, Warriors players had missed 75 games with injuries, adding six more to that total after Steve Kerr suited up only nine men for Sunday night's game between two teams in the cellar of the Western Conference:
Warriors players have missed a combined 75 games due to injury this season. No other NBA team has has had players miss more than a combined 38.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) November 17, 2019
The Warriors and Pelicans trotted out lineups without some of their best players, with Golden State playing Draymond Green and New Orleans suiting up Jrue Holiday as the only two stars in the game:
https://twitter.com/KerithBurke/status/1196218177975443456
The Warriors have quickly resorted to calling up both of their two-way players in guards Damion Lee and Ky Bowman, with the former already nursing a two-week hand injury. The NBA could allow for the inclusion of another player if the roster goes down to eight healthy players, but Golden State has been flirting with that number all season long, yet to reach it, but still plenty short-handed through the first 14 games of the season.
Furthermore, 11 of their 17 players (two two-way players in Lee and Bowman) have suffered injuries this season, and the Warriors have doled out $12.6 million in salary compensation, according to Spotrac. The Pelicans have had 10 of their players injured, including No. 1 overall selection Zion Williamson, but have only paid $5.4 million in compensation.
Asked recently if he'd ever seen a situation where bodies piled up in the infirmary as often as this team, head coach Steve Kerr gave a short but telling response:
Kerr on if he’s ever seen a situation like this in his career with so many injuries piling up at the same time for a team.
“No.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 12, 2019
Most importantly, the Warriors had their top three players go out to long-term injuries in the span of six games dating back to Game 5 of the NBA Finals, where they lost Kevin Durant to a torn Achilles, then Klay Thompson in Game 6 to a torn ACL, and Stephen Curry to a broken hand in the fourth game of the regular season.
Definitely an injury-riddled season, to say the least.
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