New year, the same story for the Golden State Warriors. An injury bug that tore through Golden State’s 2019 is continuing through the Warriors roster in 2020.
Golden State will be down two-starters when they play against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game in the new year. The Warriors have ruled out both Willie Cauley-Stein and D’Angelo Russell for the second consecutive game.
Russell will miss his 14th game on the season after colliding with Mavericks, Slovenian star, Luka Doncic. Russell injured his shoulder on the collision against the Mavericks Saturday night. The All-Star guard was down on the floor for several minutes, but later returned to the court after a quick trip to the locker room.
D'Angelo Russell ran headfirst into Luka's hip pic.twitter.com/JeXMx4B5Pa
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 29, 2019
Although Russell was able to return against Dallas, his sore shoulder lingered, causing him to miss two-straight games and counting. This will be the Louisville’s native third injury into his first season in Golden State, as he’s missed time with a thumb and ankle injury prior to his shoulder.
The Warriors will miss Russell, who’s lit up the Timberwolves in their previous two meetings, scoring a combined 82 points against Minnesota this season.
Joining Russell on the injury report is starting center, Willie Cauley-Stein. Cauley-Stein will miss his second-straight game with flu-like symptoms. Golden State Warriors sideline reporter, Kerith Burke reported earlier that the Warriors have an illness going around their lockerroom with Omari Spellman also missing time with an illness.
There’s an illness going thru the Warriors locker room. Willie Cauley-Stein and D’Angelo Russell will be OUT for the game against the Spurs. Ky Bowman was called up, but held out of practice today to manage his two-way days.
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) December 30, 2019
The final entry to the Warriors’ injury report is Kevon Looney. The Warriors’ center has dealt with a bevy of injuries throughout 2019, with his latest being abdominal soreness. Looney’s missed time due to neuropathy earlier in the year and now abdominal pain, adding to his 21 missed games on the season.
Kevon Looney (abdominal strain) is also out. Smailagic and Bowman are with Golden State. https://t.co/WKZQOArdS9
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) January 2, 2020
Without Russell and Cauley-Stein in the rotation, the Warriors leaned on Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III and Damion Lee. The trio all scored 20-points or more against San Antonio.
Minnesota will be without their All-Star centerpiece, Karl-Anthony Towns and with Cauley-Stein out, Marquese Chriss could play a more featured role in Steve Kerr’s offense. Against San Antonio, the Washington product tallied seven points with 11 rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes.
The Warriors have battled the Timberwolves in their previous two contests, splitting the series on the season. However, each game had Russell leading the way with heavy scoring numbers; without him, someone will have to step up in Minnesota.