The Golden State Warriors are set to sign Matt Barnes for the rest of the season following a knee injury to Kevin Durant. The Warriors are still atop the Western Conference standings but if Durant misses a significant amount of time, can Barnes help them maintain the number one spot?
The Warriors became the first team this season to win 50 games and they were set to increase their lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the standings on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. However, Durant suffered a hyperextended knee a minute into the game.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Durant suffered the injury when teammate Zaza Pachulia fell into his leg. He was able to take a shot on the next possession but a timeout was immediately called to get him out of the game. He already underwent an MRI on his left knee but the results are not available until Wednesday.
It's not the first injury Durant suffered during a game against his hometown Wizards. He missed a couple of weeks in 2015 when he injured his hamstring. However, a major knee injury is not good news for the Warriors championship dreams.
Despite no updates on Durant's injury, the Warriors signed Barnes for the rest of the season as a possible backup, per ESPN. He told Mar J. Spears of The Undefeated that he's very happy to play for the Warriors once again.
"It's a dream come true. I feel like I helped start something in '07 and now I'm coming back to help finish it," Barnes said.
It should be noted that Barnes was part of the 2006-07 "We Believe" Warriors team that made it to the playoffs as the eighth seed. They went on to defeat the No. 1 Dallas Mavericks in six games in one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoffs history.
But can the 36-year-old veteran help the Warriors if Durant misses time? The answer is yes since he is a good role player who can score, defend and spread the floor. He averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season before he was waived by the Sacramento Kings.
The Warriors still has three All-Stars to keep pace with the Spurs but their title dreams are in trouble if Durant is out for the season. As long Barnes does not get into fights, the Warriors are going maintain their lead in the NBA standings.
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