A new twist into Klay Thompson's expected recovery from a torn ACL revealed the Golden State Warriors marksman could miss the entire 2019-20 season rehabilitating from this major injury, at least according to Steve Kerr. The previous expectation of a potential return around the All-Star break has now been clouded with the possibility of Thompson missing the entire year, consistent with the timeline of other players like Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker, who missed nearly a full calendar year before returning to the court.

So what would it mean for the Warriors to play out a full season without Thompson? Here are a few points of interest.

The thought of missing the playoffs is very, very real

The Warriors were largely counting on reinforcements late in the season to make a push for the playoffs, and if Capt. Thompson is not around to save the day, it is possible that Golden State could miss out on the playoffs altogether.

Unlike in the East, there are not enough subpar teams to beat on to boost win totals. The West is packed with teams wrestling for playoff positioning and teams hopeful to make the playoffs. Losses to the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Sacramento Kings could easily mean the Warriors are inching themselves out of the top eight of the Western Conference, as hard to fathom as that may be.

The team will rest its hopes in Stephen Curry, but after years of breaking records and stunning the NBA landscape with otherworldly feats, there is no team that will shy away from putting multiple bodies on Curry and beating him to a pulp defensively through the course of 82 games.

D'Angelo Russell will need to develop into that same 20-point scoring option that he was last season for the Brooklyn Nets, as banking on a 2015-16 Draymond Green revival is simply too much given the sample size in the preseason.

Depth will be even more of an issue

The Warriors were hoping to be able to trot out a lineup of Curry-Russell-Thompson-Green-Willie Cauley-Stein by the end of the regular season, but now Thompson's spot might be permanently held by Glenn Robinson III for the entirety of the season.

The team waived Alfonzo McKinnie on Friday to make room for Marquese Chriss, but the small forward position gets all the more thinner now that Thompson may not return at any point this season, if Kerr's assertion is correct.

Golden State's only backup for Robinson, their best 3-point shooting option besides the backcourt of Curry and Russell, will be Alec Burks, a natural 6-foot-6 shooting guard asked to play the small forward spot out of necessity. One could argue Robinson's 3-point shooting and athleticism and Burks' instant offense bode better than McKinnie at the position, but neither of the two make up for a career 40% 3-point shooter or a 20-point scorer for the last five seasons.

Warriors could finish as a bottom-10 3-point shooting team

Despite boasting the best 3-point shooter in the league in Stephen Curry, the Warriors could no longer be considered a 3-point shooting team. Expect opponents to hone into Curry from the start and let others like D'Angelo Russell and Glenn Robinson III try their luck from the outside.

Draymond Green will also take a few more cracks at the basket from deep, and there is no signs that he has improved upon the 28.5% clip he hit at last year. Unless the likes of Russell, Robinson, Burks and rookies like Jordan Poole start becoming real threats to connect from beyond the arc, the Warriors could easily become a one-man show that will put Curry in a tough position to deliver night in and night out.

Fans have been blessed with endless shooting displays from The Splash Brothers in the past, but Thompson's recovery timeline has thrown one giant wrench in their plans.

Defense will be atrocious

Without Klay Thompson, expect the Warriors to have their share of headaches keeping teams under 110 points. With Thompson and Kevin Durant in the lineup, the Warriors were the third-best squad in field goal percentage allowed, but were right in the middle of the league in points allowed due to their fast-paced tempo. They ranked 10th in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions, which is perhaps the most accurate way to tell how their defense fared against other NBA teams.

Without two long perimeter defenders in Thompson and Durant, this team stands little chance to contain drives, challenge shots and get defensive stops without the help of Draymond Green, who will bear the onus of how his team fares defensively.

The Warriors are young and inexperienced, despite a core of veteran players with championship experience, and the news of Thompson's potential season-long unavailability is simply a crushing blow to their defense.

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It's worth noting that Kerr's comments are by no way an official timetable, but rather a look into how the Warriors look to handle Thompson's injury through the next few months. Golden State will not rush him back into action after signing him to a five-year, $190 million deal — rather allowing for him to fully heal.