The Golden State Warriors lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, and it had many people wondering if the Spurs might have a chance to beat them in a playoff series. Like the Warriors typically do, though, they bounced back and won two consecutive games including Wednesday night's easy win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Golden State was not whole for their second meeting against the Spurs as they were missing two key players. Andre Iguodala is the more important of the two, but Festus Ezeli is important as well. Ezeli has missed the last 26 games for the Warriors after undergoing knee surgery in February, but it seems like he is getting closer to a return.
Ezeli underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee on Feb. 8, and at that time he was given a timetable of about 6-8 weeks. We are now in the range of that timetable and it appears Ezeli may be able to return before the end of the regular season. The 6-foot-11 center says that he is ahead of schedule and just wants to get back on the floor and help the team.
The Warriors won't rush Ezeli back into action because they have been just fine without him, but he has plenty of incentive to get back on the floor. Ezeli is set to become a restricted free agent after this season, and before injuring his knee it seemed like he was due for a huge payday. The 26- year-old will likely still get a pay increase, but injuries are now a serious concern as he also missed the entire 2013-14 season after undergoing knee surgery.
Ezeli wasn't a major part of the Warriors' rotation before he got hurt, as he averaged just 17.8 minutes per game, but when he is on the floor he provides a ton of energy. Ezeli was an X-factor in the Warriors' winning the NBA Championship last season, and they could use him again for this postseason run.
On the season Ezeli is averaging 7.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The fourth year center is hoping to be cleared for 5-on-5 work very soon at which point he will be very close to playing in games again. Head coach Steve Kerr thinks Ezeli will be playing in games soon and that's a good thing for his future and the Warriors title hopes.
