Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been ruled out for Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets because of left calf soreness.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr called Green doubtful to play on Monday.
The Warriors are taking a cautious approach with veteran stars Green and Stephen Curry. Green had played in each of Golden State’s previous 19 games and is averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and shooting a career-best 40.3% from beyond the arc. Green is a passing hub in Golden State’s offense while anchoring Kerr’s defense.
Curry sat out three games earlier this season because of an ankle injury. The point guard is currently dealing with tendinitis in both of his knees and was held out of a loss to Oklahoma City last week before returning and playing in a loss at Phoenix on Saturday.
Curry, listed as probable to play against Denver, said Saturday he was not concerned about the pain in his knees, even though he hadn’t dealt with this issue before and noted it could potentially become a nagging injury.
Curry wasn’t sure if he might have to potentially sit out games as maintenance.
“This is what it’s going to be for our team at this point, and Draymond and Steph’s respective careers,” Kerr said. “So we’ve got to try to keep their minutes down as best we can. We’ve got to try to keep them healthy by being proactive.
“If they’re dealing with nagging injuries like Steph’s knees last week, like Draymond’s calf now — we got to manage it all for sure.”
Kevon Looney, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kyle Anderson are all candidates to defend against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic with Green out, according to Kerr.
The Warriors head into the NBA Cup game having already clinched their group; the Nuggets have an outside chance of advancing as a wild-card team with a win.
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