After a rough fall on a dunk attempt against the Washington Wizards on April 9, Kelly Oubre Jr. missed the Golden State Warriors’ next five games. Following an 11-day absence, Oubre Jr. returned to the Warriors’ rotation in a role off the bench.
Despite thriving in the second unit with 17 points on 43.9% shooting from the field with 5.4 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per contest off the bench, Oubre Jr. has missed Golden State’s last two games with soreness in his previously injured wrist.
On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Oubre Jr. has a torn ligament in his left wrist and a fracture on his palm. After initially missing five games, Oubre Jr. tried to play through the injury during his recent five-game stretch, per Charania.
Via @ShamsCharnia on Twitter:
Warriors’ Kelly Oubre Jr. has a torn ligament in his left wrist and a fracture on the palm, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Oubre reaggravated his wrist on April 9, missed 11 days and returned for five games, attempting to play through the injury and compete on the floor.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 2, 2021
According to Charania, Oubre Jr. will have further evaluations on his wrist to determine if he can play through the injury down the stretch. Golden State currently holds the 10th seed in the Western Conference, the final spot in the postseason play-in round, with eight contests remaining in the regular season.
Oubre will have further evaluations on his wrist to determine whether he can continue playing through the injury, sources said. Oubre is averaging 15.4 points and six rebounds per game this season. https://t.co/bciBSD3vgN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 2, 2021
In his first season with the Warriors, Oubre Jr. is averaging 15.4 points on 43.9% shooting from the floor with six rebounds and 1.3 assists and one steal per game.
With Oubre Jr. sidelined, Kent Bazemore has joined Steph Curry in Golden State’s starting lineup. The veteran reserve guard has averaged 11.3 points on 45.1% shooting from the field with 5.1 rebounds, two assists and 1.9 steals in 28.3 minutes.
In the second unit, the Warriors will have to lean on Mychal Mulder, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee when he returns from the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol.
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