The Golden State Warriors have been off to a solid start this season and one of the main reasons has been the play of Toney Douglas and now the guard will be out for a chunk of time as he is dealing with a leg injury due to a stress reaction in his left tibia and he could be out for up to two weeks or more.
According to ESPN.com, Douglas will be out for possibly two weeks due to the injury, which was first announced by the team on Tuesday before the Warriors defeated the Detroit Pistons. The team is 5-3 on the season and will be playing an anticipated matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday on TNT and that should be one of the better games of the early season schedule. The warriors are currently ranked in the top 10 in the NBA in a number of categories, including sixth in scoring defense and eighth in points per game, as they are scoring over 100 per contest. Head coach Mark Jackson has the team playing better defense overall this season from last year and the addition of Andre Iguodala to a lineup that includes Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson has been a great move.
Douglas led the team in scoring against the San Antonio Spurs, but the injury flared up soon after that and it was found by doctors on Tuesday. Douglas has been working as the backup to Stephen Curry and now he said that players will need to "step up" heading forward the next two weeks and he has been solid coming off the bench, averaging just under seven points per game this season.
The team next plays the Jazz after dealing with the Thunder and the team Warriors are coming off of a nice win over the Detroit Pistons at home and they will also host Utah at Oracle Arena on Saturday night. The team has a tough upcoming schedule with Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers and the team also has a tough road trip and stretch with seven games away from home in eight matchups, including against the Grizzlies, Houston rockets, Mavericks and the Pelicans.
"Guys have to be ready, guys have to step up and embrace the opportunity, and we move forward," Jackson said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's a credit to our depth and versatility that we'll find a way to still get it done."
