A Warriors team that scored a season-low 86 points in a three-point loss to the Denver Nuggets Tuesday could have its third-leading scorer return to action Thursday.
Guard Jordan Poole (health and safety protocols) was removed from the team’s official injury report Wednesday and could rejoin the Warriors’ starting lineup on Thursday in Denver against the same Nuggets team that held Golden State to just 36 first half points at the Chase Center.
Rookie Moses Moody, who entered health and safety protocols on Dec. 24, also was removed from the injury report and can rejoin the team on its upcoming two-game road trip. Guard Damion Lee, who entered protocols on Dec. 22, and forward Draymond Green, who entered protocols on Dec. 26, remain unavailable.
Second-year center James Wiseman, who is recovering from a torn meniscus and has yet to play this season, also entered health and safety protocols Wednesday. Wiseman was not expected to travel on the Warriors’ road trip, but head coach Steve Kerr said the team hoped he could begin doing contact drills upon their return. A positive Covid-19 test will likely complicate matters.
The NBA released updated guidance Monday that allows vaccinated, asymptomatic players to test out of health and safety protocols after six days instead of the previous standard of 10 days.
Poole has missed the team’s last six games after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Warriors’ December 17 matchup with the Celtics. The third-year guard was required to quarantine in Boston and didn’t return to San Francisco until late on Monday evening.
Poole was technically eligible to play in Tuesday’s home game against Denver, but Kerr said Poole would need to be cleared by Golden State’s training staff before suiting up again. The 6-foot-4 guard was spotted on the Warriors’ bench wearing a USF Dons letterman’s jacket on Tuesday and Kerr said that he anticipated Poole would partake in a workout on Wednesday so the staff could gauge his stamina.
Poole is averaging a career-high 17.9 points per game and has made 44.2% of his field goal attempts in 28 games this season.
While it’s unclear how many minutes Poole will play on Thursday, his presence should aid an offense that looked lost for parts of Tuesday’s game without him and Green. Forward Andrew Wiggins, who also spent a week in health and safety protocols, returned to the lineup and scored 21 points, but Golden State was still lacking enough scoring threats to challenge an active Denver defense early in Tuesday’s game.
Source: www.mercurynews.com