Steve Kerr injury update on Draymond Green ahead of Heat game

SAN FRANCISCO– Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will not be available for their Monday matchup with the Miami Heat with a sprained right ankle. Ahead of back-to-back championship games for the Warriors, the head coach Steve Kerr provided insight into Green’s injury and when it occurred after it appeared on the team’s injury report today.

“Rick (Celebrini) called me today to say he’s been struggling the last few games,” Kerr said. “Yesterday it got a little worse on the day off, and with them back to back, Rick thinks he’ll be ready to go tomorrow, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

Green has won a little bit the last couple of games. Against the Clippers two weeks agoGreen suffered a rib contusion while diving to the bench to save a loose ball, also landing on his wrist and twisting his ankle in the process. At the time, Green described his condition as “beating the hell up,” and the veteran talked about the amount of work he had to put in to get his body right.

“I was a little beat up after that (Clippers) game, so it was a couple of days of actually doing different things,” Green said last week, describing the debilitating weakness of the rehab process.

“Even on days off, I was here for a few hours. Then after the game, I stormed off, because it felt like I was in a casino or a prison or something, like the walls were closing in on me. You could feel it.”

Other information on the Warrior’s injuries

In addition to Green, Golden State will also be without DeAnthony Melton, as they continue to rest him at one end of a back-to-back stretch, and Guy Santos, who is still recovering from a sprained left ankle. With Melton, the Warriors put him and Al Horford back-to-back, so they have at least one veteran on each end.

The Warriors will return Jimmy Butler to the circle. Butler was late just moments before tip-off The Warriors beat the Charlotte Hornets 136-116 for a personal reason. Kerr said after that win that “everything is fine” with Butler’s situation, which is why he returned in the next game.

Golden State will look to improve on their record of 11-4 in their last 15 games.