The Golden State Warriors have been largely healthy despite losing Jonathan Kuminga for more than two months, while those around them are dealing with mounting injury concerns.
The Warriors’ recent success, which has seen them win 10 of their last 12 games, cannot be disputed, but it’s also undeniable that they have capitalized on some star absences on rival teams.
On the recent five-game road-trip, Golden State played the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid (though they lost that game) and the New York Knicks without Karl-Anthony Towns. In the two games prior to the road-trip, the Warriors faced the Dallas Mavericks without Anthony Davis or really any of their usual center rotation, while LaMelo Ball was also missing in a 36-point blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Jalen Brunson will miss next Saturday’s matchup with the Warriors
As Golden State now prepares for a seven-game home-stand starting with the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, they’re already aware of one opposing star who won’t be visiting Chase Center next week.
Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson will be out at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain, having been injured in the final 90 seconds of his team’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
The Knicks’ hopes of avenging a 114-102 loss at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday will be severely hampered by Brunson’s departure. Golden State will play New York next Saturday, and they will almost certainly have Towns this time around.
The Warriors outscored the Knicks 67-47 in the second half, containing the two-time All-Star, despite Brunson’s 25 points and seven assists on 9 of 18 shooting. In 61 games this season, Brunson has averaged 26.3 points and 7.4 assists, helping his team finish 40-22 and third in the Eastern Conference standings.
While the Warriors will now see an under-manned Knicks team next weekend, so too will a number of Western Conference rivals between now and then. New York will have to quickly move on from the Brunson injury and the overtime loss on Thursday when they face the L.A Clippers at Intuit Dome on the second night of a back-to-back.
They will then travel to Sacramento to face the Kings, who just like the Clippers are breathing down Golden State’s neck in the West standings. New York will also play the resurgent Portland Trail Blazers before making their way to Chase Center.
