Draymond Green spoke to the media for the first time since obtaining his back injury. He stated that he’s hopeful he’ll return to the floor within three-to-four weeks.
Draymond Green hasn't played in a game in nearly a month, and the Warriors' All-Star forward will be out a few more weeks as he deals with a disc issue in his lower back.
While the Warriors announced that Green will be re-evaluated before the All-Star break later this month, they haven't put a timeline on when he might return.
Green, though, has a goal in mind for when he could be back on the court.
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"I'm hoping sometime in the next three weeks or so, three or four weeks," Green told reporters during a lengthy press conference at Chase Center on Thursday before the Warriors' game against the Kings. "I can't really put a definite timeline on it because at this point, I'm just rehabbing and building strength and just kind of letting my body heal. So ideally, I would love to be back in the next three or four weeks. But I can't guarantee that because it's not one of those things that's like 'Oh, my ankle feels better. I can go back and play.' It's just not that as much as I wish it was. It's just not."
The Warriors' last contest before the All-Star break is a home game Feb. 16 against the Denver Nuggets, and their first game after the break is Feb. 24 at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Three weeks from now would put his return right around the start of the second half of the season. Four weeks would put him at an early March return.
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Green made it clear that even if he's not back in his desired timeline, that's not an indication there's an issue with his rehab.
"When dealing with a back, the one thing I'm not going to do is rush back out there," Green said. "And If I'm not back in three weeks, that doesn't mean that I'm not able to play in three weeks either. I want to return when I'm 100 percent confident I'm healthy, when I feel like I'm in great shape because the reality is, I don't want to return not in somewhat of game shape and then you're laboring, your mechanics in running is wrong and all of these things. Then you're compensating and then I get hurt again.
"So one thing I can tell you is, I know people will read into everything. In three weeks it'll be, 'Oh man, he's still not back.' I'm telling you now, that doesn't mean there's a problem. That doesn't mean there's a setback. I want to return to the floor when my conditioning is at the right level, when I can return and those same things I was talking about transferring onto the court, when my conditioning allows me to make sure I'm not falling back into those bad habits."
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Green was named to his fourth All-Star Game shortly before he spoke to the media Thursday, but during TNT's Tip-off show, he said he won't be able to play in the game in Cleveland on Feb. 20.
While the Warriors initially struggled without Green, they've figured things out and ride a seven-game winning streak into the game against the Kings.
At 39-13 entering play Thursday, the Warriors are in good position to have a top-3 seed in the West. Because of the cushion they built for themselves early in the season, they can allow Green to take his time getting back. The goal is to win an NBA championship, so as long as he's healthy for April, May and June, the Warriors will be in good shape.