Getty Klay Thompson (right) and Stephen Curry (left), of the Golden State Warriors, talk with each other against Indiana Pacers during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 20, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors are as banged up as they’ve been all season and a roster at full strength still looks to be a long way off.
Multiple contributors on the team are currently out due to health concerns, including starter Draymond Green, second-year big man James Wiseman and bench player Andre Iguodala. However, the biggest piece of injury news to drop Monday regarded the recently returned Klay Thompson.
Anthony Slater, of The Athletic, took to Twitter on January 24 with details of the update.
Andre Iguodala remains out for the Warriors tomorrow. Listed as left hip injury management. Klay Thompson questionable with left knee soreness.
“Andre Iguodala remains out for the Warriors tomorrow. Listed as left hip injury management,” Slater wrote. “Klay Thompson questionable with left knee soreness.”
Slater also reported that Thompson was held out of Warriors’ practice Monday due to the soreness in his surgically repaired joint.
Thompson Faces Sideline For Second Straight Game
GettyGolden State Warriors star Klay Thompson looks on from the bench during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Should Thompson end up missing the Dubs’ home game Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, it will be his second consecutive night relegated to the sideline due to the knee issue. It will also be his third straight scratch in a four-day run.
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The shooting guard has played in six of nine games for Golden State since returning on January 9 against the Cleveland Cavaliers following nearly two and a half seasons sidelined by multiple injuries. Dubs head coach Steve Kerr made it clear that Thompson would not play in one half of games scheduled on back-to-back nights, which accounts for the guard’s benching against the Chicago Bulls on January 14 and the Houston Rockets on January 21.
Thompson was set to return against the Utah Jazz Sunday night, January 23, but Kerr decided at the last minute to sit him based on advice from Rick Celebrini, the Warriors Director of Sports Medicine & Performance.
“I will tell you that Klay is gonna be a late scratch. Got a little knee soreness, so we’re not gonna play him tonight. And he’ll be day to day,” Kerr told reporters. “Just had a walkthrough and he was planning on playing and Rick [Celebrini] came to me and he said, ‘I think we should hold Klay out.’ So I didn’t even realize that anything was wrong and Rick just said, ‘It would be wise to hold him out. He just has a little bit of a tweak in the knee.’ And so we’re gonna hold him out.”
A couple of games sidelined by knee soreness isn’t necessarily a huge concern for most players, but Thompson’s long-term injury status makes the news more disconcerting than it might be for other members of the Warriors’ roster.
Thompson tore an ACL in his left knee during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. It kept him out a full season, after which he tore his achilles tendon. That injury kept him off the floor until team doctors finally cleared him to play earlier this month.
The Warriors have been cautious with Thompson, playing him just over 21 minutes per game since his return, per ESPN. He is averaging 14.7 points per contest to go along with 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists.
Thompson Joins Other Big Names on Golden State’s Sideline
GettyCharlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (left) talks with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (right) during a game in 2019.
As noted above, both Green and Wiseman are currently unable to play. Slater reported in an article published Sunday that neither player’s injury status will be updated anytime soon, as both remain designated out indefinitely.
Green’s issue involves a disc in his back that first manifested as a calf injury, while Wiseman underwent a second surgical procedure in December to address a knee injury he suffered last season.
The Warriors have played 47 regular season games as of January 24, amassing a win/loss record of 34-13. Green has missed 13 of those contests, while Wiseman has not appeared in any of them. Iguodala has missed 22 games total during the 2021-22 season.