Warriors' Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson Will Miss Several Games On Golden State's Schedule

The injuries are piling up for the Golden State Warriors. They aren’t season-ending injuries and the defending champs should be healthy when the playoffs begin, but the latest ailments could be what ultimately prevents them from securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

First, it was Stephen Curry, who suffered yet another ankle injury and has missed the last two games. Golden State’s second Splash Brother is now dealing with a sprained thumb that could force him to miss a couple of weeks.

Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania has reported that Klay Thompson will likely miss “several games.” He’s expected to return before the end of the month.

Thompson got hurt in Sunday’s 109-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’ll sit out Wednesday's contest against the Los Angeles Lakers and will likely miss upcoming matchups with the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs.

Golden State has nine games left on the schedule in March. Charania’s reported timeline suggests that Thompson will return on March 29 against the Milwaukee Bucks or March 31 in Sacramento.

The Warriors will now be forced to endure multiple games with a completely new starting backcourt. Curry has missed Golden State’s last two games—both losses— and will sit out at least the next three contests before being re-evaluated on Monday.

Draymond Green will also miss Wednesday’s game against Los Angeles with a sore shoulder. Backup shooting guard Patrick McCaw hasn’t played in a month with a wrist injury. David West and Andre Iguodala have also missed the last few games with injuries.

That leaves Kevin Durant as the Warriors’ only healthy All-Star. The forward has played in 59 of the team’s 67 games, averaging 26.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists while attempting 18 shots per contest.

The latest rash of injuries will only improve the Houston Rockets’ chances of finishing with the No.1 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State was the top seed in each of the last three years on their way to reaching three straight NBA Finals.

Golden State trails Houston by two games in the standings with 15 games left to play. The Rockets dealt with injuries to both James Harden and Chris Paul earlier in the season. The starting backcourt has been mostly healthy and nearly unbeatable since the start of February.

Thompson had been the most durable Golden State All-Star, missing just one game this year. Curry has been sidelined for 17 games, while Green and Durant have both missed eight games each.

Durant might be the league’s second-best player, but the Warriors have been fine without him, going 7-1. Golden State hasn’t been as successful without Curry, going 11-6.

The Warriors lost 125-106 in the only game that Thompson didn’t play. The shooting guard’s 44.2 percent accuracy from three-point range puts him second in the NBA, though his 19.7 points per game are his lowest scoring average in four years.