The Golden State Warriors are 29-1, but with their players showing signs of fatigue and injury, perhaps it’s time to start resting a few of them.
The Golden State Warriors are now 29-1 and don’t seem like stopping anytime soon. They’ve played at a superior level and everyone’s been talking about the new darlings of the NBA. But with all this excitement surrounding the Warriors and their win total, the team needs to remember that the regular season wins isn’t what’s important – defending their title should still remain the number one priority.
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After last night’s win, Rusty Simmons tweeted out that Stephen Curry was moving around in the locker room with a pronounced limp. Now, we haven’t heard much else from the Warriors that suggests that Curry is injured, but it is a sign that perhaps the Warriors need to start looking at resting the superstar.
Stephen Curry just moved through the locker room with a pronounced limp.
— Rusty Simmons (@JRustySimmons) December 29, 2015
Curry helped put the team up 90-75 heading into the fourth quarter last night, and was promptly rewarded with a rest on the bench. However, Curry is currently averaging 2.1 more minutes per game than he was last season. Now, it may not seem like much, but multiply that over 82 games, and you’ll have an extra 172.2 minutes of basketball that is being put on Curry’s body.
Everyone knows that the NBA is a grind, especially the short stretch before the All-Star Break and the subsequent “dog days” that follow it. For now, the Warriors need to get to All-Star Weekend healthy – a 29-1 record is incredible, but losing anyone to injury just before the Playoffs come around will be devastating to their title defense.
In fact, with head coach Steve Kerr out with an injury this season, we haven’t seen much “rest” afforded to the players quite yet. The Warriors’ incredible injury luck last season was a much talked about thing last season, but this season, they haven’t been able to replicate it. Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Leandro Barbosa, Kevon Looney, and Klay Thompson have all missed some time due to injuries. While it could be just the rub of the luck, it could also be a by-product of extra playing time.
An extra minute or two per game doesn’t seem like much, but they start to add up when you consider the stress players’ bodies go through in a typical NBA game. Factor in the back-to-backs, the cramped up game schedule, plus fatigue, and those minutes start to add up, which increases the risk of an injury.
With another 52 games to go before the start of the playoffs, the Warriors should be keeping a close on the players’ bodies, making sure that, like last season, health should be a priority over wins.