The Golden State Warriors took on the depleted New Orleans Pelicans Sunday night, and they somehow almost escaped with a victory.
Not by choice, the Golden State Warriors allowed nine players time on the floor against the Pelicans. One of them, Ky Bowman, was a two-way player. However, the Pelicans were in the same pool.
They played just nine players, including a mere one starter. The Warriors do miraculously beat them in that area, starting both Draymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein. Aside from those two, the Warriors are missing the crux of their team.
Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and D’Angelo Russell were sidelined.
Obviously, while the bulk of the Warriors’ injuries are minor, the two to Thompson and Curry will keep them sidelined for at least the next few months. Thompson could easily miss all season while Curry should be back sometime in February.
Russell should also be back soon, giving the Warriors a primary scoring threat. It’s more than just their superstar trio. It’s Kevon Looney, Jacob Evans III, and Alen Smailagić that take this team’s injury problems to the next level.
The Warriors’ injuries have been mounting, and they’ve had issues winning because of that. They just lost to a Pelicans team that was without Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Derrick Favors.
If they can’t beat those Pelicans, there will be little hope for them beating Memphis, Dallas or Utah, the team’s next trio of games, if reinforcements are not provided.
There will not a moment in Golden State where the team openly admits to tanking. However, after seven-straight losses and not much relief on the horizon, it seems likely that this continued hardship of a season will not end until the offseason sets in.
For now, there’s reason to still keeping watching although key star players may not be in. After all, Eric Paschall just put up his second 30-point performance of the season. He’s turned into a star immediately upon entering the NBA. He may be the lone bright spot of this season.
Yes, this team is injured, but yes, they’ll still be fun to watch in the meantime.