Warriors Projected to Miss the Playoffs Following Latest Draymond Green Injury Update

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will miss at least a week with a calf injury.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green's injury has impacted the Warriors' playoff odds. / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

The Golden State Warriors have struggled as of late, losing 18 of their last 27 games after starting the season with a 12-3 record.

To make matters worse, forward Draymond Green recently injured his calf and has missed four of the Warriors' last five games.

Now, it appears that he could be sidelined until the end of the month -- or more -- with the injury.

When Is Draymond Green Coming Back for the Warriors?

On Monday, the Warriors announced that Green would re-evaluated in a week after suffering a strained left calf.

Draymond Green, who exited Saturday’s game against the Wizards due to a strained left calf, underwent an MRI yesterday.

The MRI confirmed that Draymond suffered a mild calf strain. He will be re-evaluated in one week. pic.twitter.com/oauETmW60Q

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 20, 2025

Green has missed eight games already this season, including the Warriors' blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Golden State is just 3-5 in the eight games that Green has sat out.

While Golden State plans on re-evaluating the four-time champion in one week, it's possible that he could be out longer than that. The average time missed by NBA players with a calf strain is 13-17 days, depending upon the severity of the injury.

If Green ends up missing more than just a week, it could set the Warriors further back in the Western Conference standings.

Warriors Playoff Odds Dropping With Draymond Green Out

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

As of Jan. 21, the Warriors are expected to miss the playoffs, according to the latest odds from DraftKings.

Golden State is +110 to make the playoffs and -135 to miss them (an implied probability of 57.45 percent. The Warriors failed to make the playoffs last season, losing in the play-in tournament to the Sacramento Kings.

Now, Golden State is just two games out of the No. 6 seed (which would avoid the play-in) in the Western Conference, but it really can't afford to lose Green right now. The Warriors started the season 12-3, but they've gone well below .500 (9-18) since then.

Green is one of the driving forces of the Warriors' defense, which is currently No. 8 in the NBA. If he misses more than just a week, the Warriors may have a hard time staying afloat in a loaded Western Conference playoff race.

Prior to the start of the season, the Warriors were set at -110 to make the playoffs (an implied probability of 52.38 percent).

Warriors Are Overvalued in Latest Championship Odds

Despite their playoff odds dropping, Golden State is still 11th in the odds to win the NBA Finals at +3500.

The history of the Warriors -- specifically Green and Steph Curry -- may be a reason why oddsmakers have yet to drop their title odds. Still, with Golden State sitting outside the play-in tournament picture on Jan. 21, it's hard to imagine that this team makes a deep playoff run unless it makes a major move at the trade deadline.

With the Warriors now down Green for at least a week, it's possible that they're championship odds will begin to slip if they fall further out of play-in contention.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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