Golden State Warriors veteran small forward Matt Barnes suffered an injury to his foot in the Warriors win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Barnes, as a result, was only able to play seven minutes off the bench and contributed a measly three points. Barnes as a consequence of this injury went for x-rays on his right foot and ankle after Saturday night's game against the Pelicans. There was no official diagnosis after the game due to all the scans coming up negative, which shows that Barnes' injury will not be a serious issue moving forward.
Barnes will not play on Monday
After the veteran forward suffered the injury Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Matt Barnes was ruled out for the rest of the game and taken to x-rays, which came back negative. The veteran swingman, later diagnosed with a right ankle and foot sprain according to the Golden State Warriors' public relations department. Barnes is currently dealing with injuries to both his right ankle and right foot and as a result, will not suit up for Monday night's game against the Utah Jazz at Oracle Arena.
Matt Barnes as a consequence of this injury restricted to just seven minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night. Another reason for his lesser minutes was due to the return of the 2014 MVP Kevin Durant, who returned after missing 19 games due to an MCL tear.
The injury Barnes suffered would also have been another reason for his lesser minutes. Nonetheless, Steve Kerr will make sure Matt Barnes will get the required rest for his injury, with his next chance of playing occurring in the Warriors' regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Even though Matt Barnes suffered hamstring injuries last season, he has been healthy throughout the 2016-2017 season that saw him sign for the Golden State Warriors, after being waived by the Sacramento Kings to create roster room for the Demarcus Cousins' trade that occurred in early March.
After signing with the reigning Western Conference champions. Matt Barnes has averaged 5.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game while being used for his lockdown defense on the perimeter.
Barnes' efforts do not show up on the stat sheet
Nevertheless, it has never been about stuffing the stat sheet with Matt Barnes, Since his value, in particular, on the defensive end of the floor, does not show up on the stat sheet.
Here is an example why, Throughout Matt Barnes' 19 games played with the Golden State Warriors, the Warriors post a defensive rating of 100.2 when Barnes is on the floor according to NBA.com's lineup data. This rating is better than the Warriors regular season mark, which is 0.9 points higher at 101.1.
These ratings show that Matt Barnes' real value lies in his ability to prevent opposing players freedom on offense both on and off the ball. This defensive effort by Barnes enables the Warriors' best perimeter scorers to save more energy for the offensive end. As a result of Matt Barnes' injury, Kevin Durant may have been forced to play more minutes than anticipated, as it was Barnes who filled in for Durant when he was injured.
Barnes injured his right ankle in the second quarter with nine minutes. The injury looked unpleasant. However, the x-rays came back negative, and Barnes after the game stated he was feeling less pain.
If Matt Barnes misses game time which is what Warriors' staff are anticipating, then Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr still has decent options in both Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala. These two players were already playing the majority of minutes at small forward before Barnes signed with the Warriors If Kerr is desperate Ian Clark can also provide minutes at the 3.
