As if the Golden State Warriors' could not get even more beat up, they lost yet another key player in their 105-100 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night. Point guard D'Angelo Russell, who has taken over as the top offensive producer with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson down, suffered a sprained right thumb on Friday and is expected to miss two weeks. The former Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers spark plug underwent an MRI after Friday's game to reveal the severity of the injury. He will not travel with the team for their upcoming four-game road trip, and will be re-evaluated in a couple weeks before returning to action.
Russell, who is in his first season with the Warriors, joins a long list of injured players for the 2-11 defending Western Conference Champions, as they sit in last place in the conference. Curry suffered a broken hand on October 30th and will miss about three months, while Thompson is not expected to play this season due to a torn ACL. Kevon Looney, Damion Lee, and Jacob Evans are also out with injuries. Russell has averaged 24.3 points and 6.7 assists per game after signing with the Warriors last July.
The Nets are trying to contend in a weaker Eastern Conference while they wait for Kevin Durant to return to the floor, but they will be playing without another scorer. Caris LeVert is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his thumb. The oft-injured guard underwent the procedure last Thursday to repair ligaments in his thumb, and the team would not commit to an official timetable. It was originally diagnosed as a minor sprain, keeping LeVert for at least Thursday's game before this news was revealed. The 25-year-old is currently the team's third-leading scorer and will leave the Nets plenty short-handed for Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, as they are already set to be without Kyrie Irving for that contest.
And the Atlanta Hawks will be missing a young talent that is not talked about nearly enough, as Kevin Huerter is expected to miss two weeks with a shoulder strain. The injury is more specifically a left rotator cuff strain to go along with a shoulder capsule strain, which was suffered in their 125-121 win over the Denver Nuggets. That injury took place on Tuesday night, as an MRI confirmed that it wasn't as serious as first thought. Huerter was fouled by Nikola Jokic and immediately exited the game while holding his shoulder. The second-year guard has averaged 9.3 points and 2.8 assists for the 4-7 Hawks who are set to continue their west coast trip against the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night.
Russell, who is in his first season with the Warriors, joins a long list of injured players for the 2-11 defending Western Conference Champions, as they sit in last place in the conference. Curry suffered a broken hand on October 30th and will miss about three months, while Thompson is not expected to play this season due to a torn ACL. Kevon Looney, Damion Lee, and Jacob Evans are also out with injuries. Russell has averaged 24.3 points and 6.7 assists per game after signing with the Warriors last July.
The Nets are trying to contend in a weaker Eastern Conference while they wait for Kevin Durant to return to the floor, but they will be playing without another scorer. Caris LeVert is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his thumb. The oft-injured guard underwent the procedure last Thursday to repair ligaments in his thumb, and the team would not commit to an official timetable. It was originally diagnosed as a minor sprain, keeping LeVert for at least Thursday's game before this news was revealed. The 25-year-old is currently the team's third-leading scorer and will leave the Nets plenty short-handed for Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, as they are already set to be without Kyrie Irving for that contest.
And the Atlanta Hawks will be missing a young talent that is not talked about nearly enough, as Kevin Huerter is expected to miss two weeks with a shoulder strain. The injury is more specifically a left rotator cuff strain to go along with a shoulder capsule strain, which was suffered in their 125-121 win over the Denver Nuggets. That injury took place on Tuesday night, as an MRI confirmed that it wasn't as serious as first thought. Huerter was fouled by Nikola Jokic and immediately exited the game while holding his shoulder. The second-year guard has averaged 9.3 points and 2.8 assists for the 4-7 Hawks who are set to continue their west coast trip against the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night.
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