Heading into the off-season the Warriors had their eyes on Kevin Love, but that didn’t happen. Next, the Warriors wanted to bolster their second unit, so they signed Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush and Leandro Barbosa. Now, the Warriors finally have some much needed depth and three players who bring something unique to the table.
Unfortunately, Livingston has been recovering from toe surgery and will not be ready for the season opener, but he won’t be the only one. According to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, Rush will likely also miss the game against the Sacramento Kings on October, 29th due to a back injury:
Rush was diagnosed with a sacral stress reaction, and he isn’t scheduled to have the lower back injury reevaluated until right around Wednesday’s opener at Sacramento.
“They shut me down, not letting me practice, not letting me do anything, really,” Rush said, adding that he’s having to wait three days for the inflammation to go down.
“But I’m feeling better…I’m very disappointed. I’m tired of sitting.”
Rush had been battling back spasms in the last couple pre-season games, but the team has decided to shut him down completely. He will be re-evaluated next week, but Rush has been anxious to return to the court. After tearing his ACL with the Warriors in 2012, Rush was looking to bounce back this season and pick up where he left off.
While the injury does not seem serious, back issues can be complicated. Without Rush in the line-up, the Warriors will have to rely on Barbosa and either Andre Iguodala or Harrison Barnes to produce for the second unit in his absence.