The Golden State Warriors have some roster shuffling to do for the next couple of weeks. On Wednesday, it was announced that forward Draymond Green would be suspended for five games by the NBA for his actions in Tuesday’s game against the Timberwolves, leaving the Warriors short-handed during a team of the season when they’ve hit a rough patch.
Warriors Will Be Without Draymond Green For Next 5 Games
The NBA is suspending Golden State’s Draymond Green for five games, source tells ESPN. Significant hit for the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/QlexGdXNUd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2023
The season started out well, with Golden State getting out to a 5-1 record and looking like one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference. But since November 3rd, the Warriors have lost five of their last six games, including four in a row, and things could get even tougher in the coming days.
Green has been playing with fire with his passion and anger so far this season. We are just a handful of games into the season, and he has already been involved in two or three different skirmishes and on-court flare-ups, the most recent of which got him into hot water with the league. A scuffle between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels in Tuesday’s game turned into a mini-melee, which concluded with Green putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock and refusing to release for about five full seconds.
The NBA front offices were forced to take action, and Draymond Green won’t be able to play again for the Warriors until November 28th against the Sacramento Kings.
Kuminga Set To Start Against OKC
🚨 Jonathan Kuminga will start in place of Draymond Green tonight against the Thunder, per Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. pic.twitter.com/5yWjXNipxd
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 17, 2023
Just how they’ll replace him has become a question, but it appears as though the team will have Jonathan Kuminga step up and fill the starting forward role, at least for Thursday’s game against the Thunder.
There are a few options that the Warriors have, including inserting Chris Paul into the starting lineup, as they did early in the year when Green missed time with an injury. But replacing a forward with a guard makes a small lineup even smaller, and the team can’t afford to sacrifice size against a tall front court like that of OKC, who they’ll play their next two games against.
Unfortunately for Golden State, they’ll also be without Steph Curry for at least Thursday’s game, as he has now missed two games in a row while nursing an injury himself. Game two of the back to back against the Thunder will be played on Saturday evening.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
