Draymond Green Ruled Out With Back Soreness Moments Before Nuggets Game
Moments before Sunday's Nuggets-Warriors game, draymond green was ruled out with back soreness, removing one of Golden State's highest-paid players from the rotation and forcing a late adjustment to the lineup.
Draymond Green scratched just before tip
The team announced the decision moments before the matchup against Denver, handing a last-minute roster blow to a Warriors side that had already lost other key players. Kristaps Porzingis had been ruled out earlier Sunday with an illness, leaving the team without another veteran presence for the game.
Short-handed Warriors lean on Moses Moody and Gui Santos
With draymond green, Kristaps Porzingis and Stephen Curry (knee) all on the out list, and Jimmy Butler sidelined with a season-ending ACL tear, Golden State's highest-paid healthy player for the game was Moses Moody, whose 2025-26 salary is $11. 6 million. Expect Moody and Gui Santos to take a huge percentage of Golden State's offensive load against Denver.
Nuggets still have Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic
Denver will be without Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett for the game, but the Nuggets retained Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in their lineup. The matchup loomed as a steep challenge for the short-handed Warriors, especially after Denver routed the Trail Blazers by 54 points in their previous game on Friday.
The absence of draymond green joins a growing list of unavailable players that includes Curry (knee) and Butler (season-ending ACL tear), a group whose combined 2025-26 salaries total $170 million. That payroll gap left the Warriors looking to younger players for minutes and offensive creation against a Denver team that still featured its primary scorers.
Coaches adjusted rotations immediately with the scratches, signaling that Moody and Santos would assume a larger playmaking and scoring role for the contest. The change altered matchups and rotation depth moments before tip for a Golden State team that entered the game undermanned compared with its usual lineup.
The matchup tipped off shortly after the late roster moves, with the Warriors forced to move forward without several of their top earners and veterans. The team will need to regroup for its next scheduled game on the calendar after this matchup, while medical updates will determine when the sidelined players can return.
