SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Warriors rookie James Wiseman will be sidelined more than a week with a sprained left wrist that the 7-foot center injured against Detroit on Saturday.
“It’s a concern any time you lose anybody for any stretch of time, especially a guy that is in the rotation, but we'll figure it out,” guard Stephen Curry said. “Injuries are obviously part of every season, no matter when they come. You've just got to be able to adjust.”
Wiseman landed on his wrist when he was bumped coming down from a dunk off an alley-oop pass by Draymond Green with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter of the 118-91 rout of the Pistons but kept playing. Wiseman had an MRI exam on Sunday, coach Steve Kerr said.
“It’s a bummer but at least it’s not anything worse and he should be back in 10 days or so,” Kerr said.
The big man, who came off the bench the past four games as Kerr switched up his starting lineup, is wearing a brace and scheduled to be re-evaluated in a week to 10 days. Veteran Kevon Looney replaced Wiseman in the lineup and expects to play more minutes with Wiseman out.
“I'm prepared to take on a bigger role,” Looney said.
The Warriors selected the 19-year-old Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick out of Memphis after he played only three college games. He is averaging 12.2 points and leads all rookies with 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
“It's a blow to our team but I'm glad it's a short-term injury, not something long-term,” Looney said, adding that Wiseman “was upbeat, he wasn't down.”
Golden State has put a priority on rebounding, something Kerr insists comes down to focus.
“Not having James is going to hurt in that, he's one of our best rebounders,” Looney said.
In addition, forward Eric Paschall practiced fully Monday “and did fine,” according to Kerr, after back spasms kept him out the second half Saturday.
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