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Warriors Receive Bad News Amid 4-Game Losing Streak

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Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors

The  Golden State Warriors‘ bid to stop their four-game losing skid in the rocky mountains of Denver gets tougher as they will be without Draymond Green.

The Warriors star forward had been ruled out with left calf tightness, according to the latest NBA official injury report.

The 34-year-old Green is averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a starter for the Warriors.

Without Green, Kerr will be forced to rely on second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis and veterans Kevon Looney and Kyle Anderson for the challenging task of slowing down the Nuggets’ three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

Jokic has been phenomenal this season and is on track to win his fourth MVP trophy. He is No. 4 in scoring (29.6), No. 1 in rebounding (13.2) and No. 2 in assists per game (10.7) in the entire NBA while leading the Nuggets in all those statistical categories. He is also tied for a team-best 1.5 steals per game.

His efficiency is also on an elite level, hitting 56.2% from the field and a whopping 50.8% from the 3-point line.

None of the Warriors centers, except Green, can stretch the floor like Jokic.

Steph Curry Suggests Shortening Warriors Rotation

Warriors franchise star Stephen Curry addressed the pestering question about the Warriors’ expanded rotation following his return in the team’s 1113-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns on November 30.

“When you’re winning, it’s fun,” Curry told reporters about the pestering question about the sustainability of their expanded rotation. “When you’re not, questions pop up.”

Curry made it clear he wanted the Warriors’ rotation shortened and rallied everyone to make sacrifices for the team.

“It’s hard for everybody,” Curry told reporters. “Coach’s job is to make those tough decisions. It’s our job to help him. If you’re not playing, don’t pout; don’t bring the locker room down. It doesn’t help anybody. Including yourself.”

Curry ultimately suggested cutting the Warriors’ rotation to 10-11 deep.

“Do we need to shorten it?” Curry said. “We probably need to be more predictable on a night-to-night basis so guys can get a little bit of a rhythm. Is that shortening it to one or two guys? Maybe.”

Steve Kerr: ‘Everybody’s Pissed’

Kerr acknowledged the vibes are not immaculate at this point in the Warriors locker room, not only because of losing but also sporadic playing time for some of the players.

“As soon as you lose, you’re going to have guys that are pissed off,” Kerr told reporters. “I’ve been in their shoes. I used to be pissed off at my coach all the time when he didn’t play me. That was most of my career. This is how it is. It’s the NBA. It’s a competitive, vicious league. Four games ago, we were on top of the world. Everybody’s happy. Now we’ve lost four in a row. Everybody’s pissed.”

Two of them who were bumped off the rotation logjam were Moses Moody and Kyle Anderson.

Moody only logged 2:46 after averaging close to 17 minutes in the Warriors’ first 18 games. Anderson played only seven minutes, snapping his three-game streak of double-digit playing time.

Both of them may see increased playing time, especially Anderson, in the wake of Green’s absence.

Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo

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