The Golden State Warriors lost their preseason game on Tuesday night to the Denver Nuggets by the score of 114-103 but they suffered a big scare during that game. Harrison Barnes left in the middle of the game with a knee injury that he suffered when he collided with a Nuggets player but fortunately it is being reported that the injury is not considered serious, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
Barnes has been an iron man in his NBA career so far having only missed four games in his first three seasons and he played, and started, in all 82 games a season ago. The injury to Barnes is considered a right knee sprain and the Warriors may hold him out for a few games just as a precaution. Interim head coach Luke Walton said they won't rush him back but it sounds as though he will be ready for the start of the regular season.
Not only did the Warriors dodge a bullet by not losing their starting power forward but Barnes also dodged a huge bullet. Barnes is in the final year of his rookie contract and is currently negotiating a contract extension with the Warriors. If Barnes were to have a significant injury that would likely inhibit his ability to negotiate a contract that works out well for him. The latest on Barnes' contract extension talks is that he turned down a four year $64 million offer and as of right now it doesn't seem all that promising that an extension gets done before the November 2nd deadline.
Barnes really broke out last season in his third in the NBA and the Warriors expect another step forward from him this season. In his 82 games Barnes averaged 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting career high percentages from the field (48 percent) and from three (41 percent.) The Warriors would likely be just fine without him as they have Andre Iguodala as his backup but it looks like they probably won't have to find out what life without Barnes would be like this season.
