At some point misfortune turns from something that's disappointing to something that can only be laughed at. The Golden State Warriors hit such a point against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at Chase Center, with Steve Kerr forced to use an injured player such was the lack of availability against arugably the hottest team in the league.
Malevy Leons has been dealing with a wrist sprain to the point he couldn't shoot the ball on Wednesday, yet the two-way contracted forward still played nearly 30 minutes off the bench which included having to take three free-throws with his non-preferred left hand.
Warriors injury crisis forces a new extreme measure
Missing nine players including all three of their primary center options against French phenom Victor Wembanyama, the Warriors still put up a respectable effort in a 127-113 loss. They actually won the second-half by seven, having trailed the visitors 70-49 through 24 minutes.
They simply weren't a match though for a Spurs team that's now won 26 of their past 28 games, and especially against Wembanyama who dominated from the tip with the game's first five points, before finishing with a mammoth 41 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks on 16-of-22 shooting from the floor in less than 29 minutes.
The Warriors are so thin and injury depleted that Malevy Leons took a free throw left-handed tonight
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) April 2, 2026
He hurt his wrist two weeks ago and the Warriors badly need any bodies they can get. Impressive toughness by Leons to even be out there pic.twitter.com/pwEayxCmWF
Every Warrior aside from Leons and rookie guard Will Richard finished in double figure scoring. Another two-way player, Nate Williams, led them with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals in a career-high nearly 47 minutes, while their third two-way player, LJ Cryer, had 17 points and three assists on 6-of-12 shooting.
Golden State's most recent signing, Omer Yurtseven, also had 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, with that only further summing up the state of a rotation that's been decimated by injuries in recent months.
Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski were the most notable of the players that took to the floor, but even they were rested in the fourth-quarter and each played less than 21 minutes in preparation for Thursday's second night of a back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Podziemski was hot early with 12 points in the opening period, eventually ending with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in only 17 minutes. Green went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, but also battled foul trouble in trying to guard the irrepressible Wembanyama.
Golden State's fate as the 10th-seed continues to firm with only six games left in the regular season, but multiple players should return to face the Cavaliers, while superstar guard Stephen Curry is targeting a comeback against the Houston Rockets on Sunday.