Three weeks have past since De’Anthony Melton suffered an injury that would put him out of this season’s NBA competition for good. Finally, this Wednesday, the Golden State player underwent his knee surgery in Los Angeles, as it was confirmed that he won’t recover until next year’s summer.
While the guard recuperates from his partially torn left anterior cruciate ligament that he injured back on November 12 against the Mavericks, the rest of the team will have to find a way to remain healthy throughout the campaign, as many other stars have been in and out of action due to injuries.
For example, the Warriors have ruled out stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green for this Thursday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets. For the all-time leader in three-pointers, he will sit out for the second time in four contest due to what the team called “bilateral knee injury management.”
BREAKING: DeAnthony Melton is OUT for the rest of the season with an ACL injury…
Do the Warriors need to make a trade? pic.twitter.com/Yr5e1HgF1m
— Guru (@DrGuru_) November 21, 2024
While the point guard didn’t play in their November 27 home loss to the Thunder because of pain in both of his knees, his co-star is also going through a similar situation. “He’s doing well,” Steve Kerr said of Green. “But all in all, I talked to him yesterday, he said he is feeling pretty good. My gut is that it is not going to be a super long-term issue. But we’ll have to see what our training staff says tomorrow.”
While fans anxiously await news on Draymond’s recovery, he expects to return soon but needs to be cautious. “I’ll be 100% honest, I’m a little afraid of going through what I went through two years ago and missing three months,” he said during an episode of The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.
“I’m a little afraid right now. But I have confidence in our medical staff. I’m confident I’m getting ahead of it now because I’m paying attention to these crazy symptoms, and I know not to ignore them. Every symptom I’m feeling right now, ignoring it would only lead me to where I was before, and I don’t want to go there,” Green added.
The veteran explained the importance of addressing his health issue as early as possible. “So if I can catch it now, miss a game or two, instead of missing two or three months, the smart thing is to address it while I’m still feeling these symptoms. That’s where I’m at with it,” he expressed.
Coach Steve Kerr explains reasons behind Curry and Green’s current minute restriction, as he hopes to keep their veterans in shape
This situation isn’t new, as superstar Curry has been held to minutes restrictions in the last couple of years due to his old age. However, he isn’t the only player being held to a minutes restriction in Golden State, as the team’s veteran core must be protected so that they last the entire season.
Another player being held to minutes restriction is Draymond, who explained to the public why he considers this an important strategy so that veterans like himself can remain leaders throughout the campaign. After losing many times in the past week, the four-time champion addressed this issue on his own podcast show.
“Steve has 9 championship rings—5 as a player and 4 as a coach,” he explained. “The reason I’m telling you (this) is because in a regular season game on Monday in November, Steve Kerr is not going to overreact to what the minutes are to what’s already been a tough last 5 days for us.”
Last week, for example, both him and Curry participated in 29 minutes that night against Brooklyn, with the point guard only logging 15 minutes in the second half. “(Kerr) is not going to overreact to a lead going away and put Steph back in the game or myself back in the game because the team is on a run,” Dray added. “He ain’t doing that.”
