The Warriors officially announced D’Angelo Russell is out for at least two weeks after he suffered a right thumb sprain in last night’s game against the Celtics.
Russell is going to be reevaluated by the team in two weeks and might return after that point, but there’s no official timetable just yet. It’s another massive blow to a team that is now set up for an early lottery pick next season after making five straight runs to the NBA Finals.
Injuries happen. They’re a part of sports. Athletes are bigger, stronger and faster than ever and they push the body to limits that they probably shouldn’t reach on a nightly basis. No load management or preventative measure is going to stop that from happening.
With that being said, sorry to say, but the Warriors are probably cursed.
Just do the math. In the span of six months, they’ve lost an entire starting five of All-Star caliber players for, at a minimum, five games to major injuries.
- Stephen Curry (broken wrist)
- Klay Thompson (torn ACL)
- Kevin Durant (torn achilles)
- Draymond Green (torn finger ligament)
- D’Angelo Russell (sprained thumb, knee injury)
They’ll never get Durant back and Thompson is out for the season. Curry might be up in the air. We haven’t even gotten into Kevon Looney, who has still yet to return from a hamstring injury. Same with Jacob Evans who has an adductor strain.
Last night, after Russell left yesterday’s game, Green shrugged off the team’s injury woes over the last few months.
Draymond on the Warriors injury woes: “Sometimes sh** just happens.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 16, 2019
Fair point, sure. Counterpoint: The Basketball Gods.
Maybe this is karma for adding an MVP to a 73-9 team. Maybe this is payback for leaving Oakland for the tech bros in the Chase Center. Maybe this season is a sacrifice that needed to be made for a five year run of unprecedented success. We have no idea. All we know is that it’s eerie.
But, uh, while we’re here…can someone let the Wizards know who to talk to to get this sacrifice on and popping? All I need is two years — just two. Give me a trip to the Finals and I’ll be content. That’s not much.
Seriously, though, get healthy Warriors. The NBA isn’t the same without you.