Warriors big men James Wiseman and Eric Paschall will be quarantining due to COVID-19 protocols for at least one week, Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
The players were initially sidelined tonight for Golden State’s battle with the hapless Rockets, a 108-94 victory, after contact tracing revealed potential exposure to the novel coronavirus, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Slater adds that some of the Warriors’ development staff and assistant coaches have also entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocols.
Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area notes (via Twitter) that the earliest Wiseman and Paschall can return to the floor for the Warriors will be next Thursday against the Kings. In the absence of both big men, the Warriors will most likely lean more on veterans Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.
Rookie center Wiseman has shown flashes of the promise that prompted the Warriors to select him with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA draft out of Memphis. He is currently averaging 11.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG, in just 20.8 MPG, across 29 games for the Warriors (including 17 starts). Second-year power forward Paschall, a 2019/20 All-Rookie selection, has seen his output decrease during his second season while playing on a healthier roster.
Warriors star Stephen Curry also left Wednesday’s game with an injury diagnosed as a tailbone contusion. While head coach Steve Kerr said it initially looked “kind of scary,” he added that he doesn’t expect Curry to miss much time, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.