The Golden State Warriors recently received good news regarding the status of Kevon Looney as the big man is reportedly set to return as early as Monday.
The Golden State Warriors have limped their way out of the starting gate this season suffering countless injuries. But the injury-riddled Warriors could soon be set to return one of their more valuable players.
Center Kevon Looney has battled injuries throughout the majority of training camp and into the preseason but the word is that he could return as soon as this Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday that Looney would be assigned to the G-League for a few days, practicing with the team in hopes of a return in the near future.
Now, it’s unlikely that Looney actually suits up for a game down in Santa Cruz. Rather the team is simply using this as an opportunity to further evaluate Looney in anticipation of his return.
We saw the Warriors do this last season with DeMarcus Cousins and earlier this year with Willie Cauley-Stein. And the Indiana Pacers are currently doing the exact same thing with injured All-Star Victor Oladipo.
For Kevon Looney, this is especially important too considering the nature of his injury.
The talented big man dealt with a nagging hamstring injury throughout training camp but appeared ready to go for the team’s season opener last month. But after playing in only 11 minutes, Looney was pulled at halftime and he wouldn’t return.
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Unfortunately, he had reaggravated the same hamstring injury and it was later reported that the injury was made worse by a condition known as Neuropathy. He had been dealing with the issue for quite some time but it had never caused him to miss games before.
The nerve damage has caused chronic pain in Looney’s hamstrings preventing him from playing. However, it seems as though he might finally be ready for his return.
And it comes at a perfect time considering the barren state of the team’s current roster.
Following another injury to D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors have been left with just nine healthy players. For context, the NBA requires teams to have at least eight healthy, active players for each game.
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While Kerr will likely ease Looney back into the lineup, he should be able to step back into the starting lineup before long which is good news for the Warriors. Cauley-Stein has been starting at center and the former top draft pick has been exposed a bit on defense.
A notably stout defender, Looney’s return is monumental for a Warriors team allowing just shy of 120 points per game.
This will likely demote Marquese Chriss who has seen substantial minutes in Looney’s absence and is coming off a season-high 17 points in the team’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Still, the Warriors will undoubtedly welcome Kevon Looney back with open arms and hope that the oft-injured big man could stay healthy.
After all, he’s never been more valuable to this team than right now.