The Golden State Warriors will be shorthanded against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
In addition to being without Jonathan Kuminga, De’Anthony Melton, and Draymond Green, the Dubs will also have to take the floor without their recently signed center, Al Horford.
Why Al Horford isn’t playing tonight vs. The Jazz with injury news
Horford was unable to finish the Warriors’ Friday night contest against the Portland Trail Blazers due to injury.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater recently broke down Horford’s latest setback and shared a return timeline.
"This (Draymond Green’s right foot sprain) is the latest hit to a Warriors' frontcourt that is already depleted,” Slater said. “Jonathan Kuminga will miss his sixth straight game with bilateral knee tendinitis, and Al Horford is out at least a week with sciatic nerve irritation on his right side.”
“Horford departed for the locker room in the third quarter after playing 18 minutes against the Blazers. The team initially ruled him out with hamstring tightness, but later updated it to a sciatic issue. He will miss at least the next three games against the Jazz, Blazers, and (New Orleans) Pelicans.”
Horford has been disappointing with the Warriors this season, to say the least. The 39-year-old center hasn’t made a noticeable impact in the franchise’s frontcourt despite being an impactful low-post contributor with the Boston Celtics a season ago.
Horford is averaging 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 12 games, shooting 34.3% from the field and 32.0% from three-point land.
Still, with Golden State not having much depth at the center position, losing Horford for an extended period would be unfortunate for the seven-time NBA champions.
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