Prognosis improves on Bell: ankle inflammation
Rookie expected out at least two weeks :‘ No structural damage is main thing’
CHICAGO >> As his teammates finished their shooting routines on Friday, Warriors rookie forward Jordan Bell walked out of the gym. That marked a much more encouraging visual for the Warriors than when they carted Bell off the court in a wheelchair after he sprained his left ankle in Wednesday’s game against the Bulls.
At the time, the Warriors and Bell thought he experienced a devastating injury. Instead, the Warriors ruled out Bell for at least two weeks, after an MRI taken on Thursday confirmed he had inflammation in his sprained left ankle.
“Good news overall. No structural damage is the main thing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a young guy who heals quickly, so hopefully this is best-case scenario.”
According to that timetable, Bell will miss at least the next five games beginning when the Warriors (379) play the Houston Rockets (31-12) on Saturday. Bell will also sit out for the Warriors’ three-game homestand against New York (Jan. 23), Minnesota (Jan. 25) and Boston (Jan. 27) followed by a game in Utah (Jan. 30).
Bell already showed progress on Friday. After needing a walking boot and crutches Wednesday evening, Bell limped around the gym without the walking boot.
With his absence, thirdyear forward Kevon Looney will have an increased role after averaging 3.0 points on 60 percent shooting and 2.7 rebounds in 10.9 minutes through 36 games.
“When you’re a young player and don’t get much time, it’s hard to be confident night in and night out,” Kerr said of Looney. “But we believe in him. He’s a really good fit for what we try to do defensively. He’s a good passer. He keeps things simple. So he just has to keep playing.”
Looney said he plans to take advantage of the increased minutes by playing more aggressively.
“I should stay consistent as a young guy. That makes a big difference being consistent every game,” Looney said. “That increases the minutes and the role. I want Steve to be able to rely on me on both ends of the court.”
• Warriors forward Draymond Green said “it’s definitely not a big deal” he was not named a starter for the All-Star Game.
Green received the second most fan votes among Western Conference frontcourt players (1,135,478), trailing only Warriors forward Kevin Durant (2,238,406 votes). But Green ranked sixth among media voters and seventh among player voters. While fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote, media and player input each accounted for 25 percent of the vote.
“That’s dope. I appreciate all the fans,” Green said. “I didn’t really expect any players to vote me in, though. That’s cool.”
“If you look at the player voting, I don’t think it’s taken that seriously. If you look at some of the people that get player votes. …” Green said, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t care. I think some people do make it a joke. It’s all right. No big deal.”
• The Warriors listed reserve forward Andre Iguodala as questionable for Saturday’s game in Houston (left calf contusion).