Kerr believes Draymond's calf tightness 'something minor' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

Roughly 10 minutes before the Warriors and Denver Nuggets tipped off at Ball Arena on Thursday night, Draymond Green was scratched from the starting lineup with what Golden State deemed as right calf tightness.

Green entered the day questionable for the second night of a back-to-back with right foot soreness and Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters before the game that he expected his starting power forward to play. But things quickly changed and Green missed the Warriors' 134-117 loss to Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

After the game, Kerr told reporters in Denver that Green's calf simply tightened up on him, though the hope is that it's nothing serious.

"The belief is that it's something minor, but obviously he'll get checked out when we get home," Kerr said.

While Green has been healthy for most of this season, last year, he dealt with left calf tightness that popped up the day of Klay Thompson's emotional return after a 941-day absence. Green was on the court for the opening tip but quickly committed a foul so he could exit the game.

Green left that Jan. 9, 2022 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with the calf injury, but it later developed into a disc/back injury, causing him to miss 31 games. He didn't return until March 14, missing more than two months of action.

The Warriors are hoping Green's current injury is nothing serious because they can't afford to lose him for an extended period of time. Sitting at 26-26 after falling to Denver, Golden State currently is in ninth place in the Western Conference with 30 regular-season games remaining.

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The Warriors are off Friday before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

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