Golden State Warriors: Still on Shaky Ground Despite Chris Paul Injury

The Warriors title hopes stood in limbo when Stephen Curry sprained his knee. Now with Chris Paul out, the odds again shift, but nothing is guaranteed.

A few drops of sweat on a hardwood floor in Houston, Texas was all it took to stretch out the ligament of the reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, just enough to stab a metaphorical knife in to the hopes of the Golden State Warriors winning another NBA championship.

The medial collateral ligament of the soon-to-be back-to-back MVP was extended enough to turn in to a grade one sprain— at least a two-week injury per the Warriors’ diagnosis.

“From our perspective, relatively good news,” Warriors General Manager Bob Myers said to a swarm of media personnel, “Clearly we don’t want to be here getting MRI’s at this point in the season, especially with someone of Steph’s stature.”

The good news is that Golden State would be able to get their best player back before too long. The bad news is, they may not be able to survive that until then. A second round match-up with the Los Angeles Clippers loomed, as they took a 2-0 series lead over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Although, Portland was able to avoid the death of an 0-3 deficit, all signs pointed to the Clippers making it to the Western Conference Semifinals to face a banged-up Golden State.

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There was denial, and there was hope. Fans began to form their 140-character-or-less opinions, and Dub Nation beamed with optimism, confident that the remaining Warriors could still handle Los Angeles. We all know that would be no easy feat.

On Monday night, however, the Warriors caught a break. In game four of the Clippers series with the Blazers, Chris Paul appeared to sustain a hand injury. Initial diagnosis called it a fractured third metacarpal— a broken right hand. ESPN’s J.A. Adande reported that Paul would likely be out for the rest of the post season.

The sun flooded into Bay Area homes on Tuesday morning bringing along with it a rejuvenated joy, not in celebration of a future Hall of Famer sustaining an unfortunate injury, but because the Warriors – their Warriors – once again had hope. No respectable person would wish an injury on an opposing player, even if it does help your team in the end. But, if you believed that the Warriors have been most deserving of the title, then this must be the basketball gods evening the playing field.

The best team in regular season history couldn’t possibly have their season wasted by a slippery floor could they? Unfortunately yes, they could and still can.

The Warriors are in no way out of the woods yet. Even with news that Blake Griffin‘s season may too be in jeopardy, the Warriors still have a huge test ahead of them. The fact of the matter is, Curry won’t even be re-evaluated for two weeks, which means it is a very real possibility he misses the entirety of the second round.

That means the Warriors will have to find a consistent scorer, which they have not really had much of during this playoff run. Klay Thompson, while averaging 22.5 points per game in the four games this post season, is shooting only 39 percent. On top of that, his shooting from the arc is well below his season average as he currently sits at 37.5 percent from deep in the four games against the Houston Rockets.

Harrison Barnes is another player who has yet to find a real rhythm in the first round. After struggling for the better part of the second half of the season, Barnes turned it on late in the push for 73 wins, scoring double digits in the final 10 games of the season, while putting up 14 points, and six rebounds per game, also shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from three.

In four games this post season, Barnes is averaging just 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and shooting a dismal 27.5 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from deep.

The Warriors have gotten viable production from the bench from the likes of Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights, and Ian Clark. Also, Shaun Livingston has done a tremendous job filling in for Curry during his absence, averaging 12.5 points and 5.3 assists, while shooting 52.6 percent.

“Why we flowed so well [after Steph’s injury] was because everyone was pitching in,” Barnes said on the radio Monday, “We didn’t have one guy try to go out there and do everything or compensate for the loss of Steph. It was everyone pitching in. That’s what we got to do and continue to do.”

With both Paul and Griffin dealing with injuries, it may be best for the Clippers to become the Warriors second-round opponent. However, with that series now tied at 2-2, Portland may become a very real threat to the Warriors’ title hopes.

The Blazers account for one of the Warriors’ nine losses this season, which came on February 19th by a score of 137-105, with Golden State at full strength. The Blazers may have lost four of their five starters from last year, but they won’t just lay down for the defending champions.

The Warriors are going to have to find a way to survive without their leader and General Manager, Bob Myers, doesn’t believe they are just going to give up either.

“I know in the locker room they’re not crying,” Myers said on KNBR Monday afternoon, “They’re not sitting there saying ‘well our season is over’ and ‘we need him.’ There’s not one ounce of that.”

Next: Golden State Warriors Utilize Their Strength In Numbers

The Warriors will look to wrap up their first round series with the Rockets on Wednesday night, as they currently hold a 3-1 series lead. Once that is complete they will await the end of the Clippers and Blazers series which is scheduled to end on either Friday or Sunday, depending if it goes to six or seven games.

If the series ends in six, the next series for the Warriors will start on Sunday May 1st. If either series gets pushed to a seventh game, the next round will begin on Tuesday May 3rd.