Will Richard is questionable for the Golden State Warriors for Wednesday’s game at the Houston Rockets on Nov. 11 with a torn ligament in his left thumb, an upgrade from the out designation he carried into Monday’s 138-87 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, which he missed. The listing on Tuesday’s league injury report is the first since the injury that has not ruled him out, and the team has not settled whether he will have surgery or play through it with a splint.
What has changed since the Warriors announced a UCL tear in the thumb on Nov. 8 is the decision in front of him rather than the injury itself. Anthony Slater of ESPN reported Tuesday that Richard has explored playing with the splint. Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Richard on Monday saying the plan is to “wait until the swelling goes down,” then “do a workout, catching, going full speed and all that, see if it’s comfortable” — and that “if I feel comfortable and confident, I want to play.”
The upgrade comes with the Warriors’ backcourt already short. Brandon Williams is out for Wednesday with a left hamstring strain and Gary Payton II is out with left knee inflammation, so Richard’s availability decides how thin Steve Kerr’s bench is behind Stephen Curry for the opener of a five-game road trip. Neither the Warriors nor anyone named has attached a return date to the injury, and the team has not said which way the surgery decision is leaning. The fuller account of the injury is in the Warriors’ original announcement that Richard had torn a ligament in his left thumb.
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