James Wiseman did not think his left wrist injury was so serious when he initially injured him against the Pistons on January 30.
He continued to play after he landed on him after a collision with Jerami Grant, but was constantly spinning and grabbing his wrist, trying to get rid of the pain.
Only in the fourth quarter did he realize that he would need further assessments.
The diagnosis was a sprain – for which Wiseman is grateful – but it is a sprain that kept him away for more than two weeks.
Wiseman will be reevaluated on Thursday, which means he will miss Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat, but there is a chance he will return in time for Friday’s game in Orlando.
“With a sprained wrist, you don’t know if it will take one, two or three weeks, so I’m just following each procedure, but there are no setbacks,” Wiseman told reporters after training on Tuesday. “I’m just trying to get better and better every day and it’s definitely getting better, so I can’t wait to get back to work.”
After Wiseman’s first assessment last week, the cause for concern was that he still had pain in his left wrist. The pain and inflammation have subsided, which makes Wiseman believe he will return to court sooner or later.
Wiseman and Kevon Looney were able to participate in the contactless training on Tuesday. Although the novice has yet to do many shooting exercises, he says he doesn’t feel rusty when he can fire.
“They are doing great,” Steve Kerr told 95.7 the game on Tuesday. “The two guys are fine and I wouldn’t expect them to be gone much longer. I don’t have a date for you, but I suspect that at some point on this trip we will see them both.”
Wiseman never suffered an injury that kept him away for so long, but the experience he had in Memphis – being forced to watch from afar when the NCAA prevented him from playing – helped him prepare for his return.
“I have been through a lot of adversity in my life, so I just remained mentally strong and engaged,” said Wiseman. “Asking lots of questions and being very brave every day.”
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Draymond Green remains Wiseman’s favorite guy for questions, especially after seeing him thrive at the center. Of course, Wiseman is not the same player as Green. And when Wiseman is on the court, the game will be played differently than when Green is five. But watching the Warriors’ small ball team made Wiseman want to learn and add certain aspects of Green and Juan Toscano-Anderson’s game to his repertoire.
“I feel like adding [passing] to my game will make me even more effective, “said Wiseman.” I feel like watching [Green] playing, and he using his IQ in defense too, I watch his defensive skills on how he can impact the game on that part of the floor and at both ends, I just want to study with him and keep learning and keep watching. I’m just looking at him. “
“I’m focusing on executing each move, focusing on the defensive side, like how Juan T protects because he’s a dog. Focusing on Draymond and how he keeps it, well. Focusing on the little things to make me better.”
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