James Wiseman is starting to come into his own as an NBA player. On Wednesday, he scored a career-high 25 points in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and after a somewhat inefficient start to the season, he is shooting nearly 54 percent from the field over his past nine games.
But that growth is going to have to wait for another week or two. In Saturday's win over the Detroit Pistons, Wiseman sprained his right wrist. He will now have to miss 7-10 days, the Warriors announced on Monday. Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed that Wiseman will be wearing a brace on his wrist for added protection.
"It's a bummer," Kerr told reporters on Monday. "But at least it's not anything worse and he should be back in 10 days or so."
Wiseman began the season as a member of Golden State's starting five, but over the past four games, he's come off of the bench in favor of Kevon Looney. The Warriors are 3-1 in that period, and the change was sorely needed given the struggles Wiseman's starting lineup had gone through. The unit of Wiseman, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins has been outscored by 62 points in 171 minutes. The Looney version has been substantially better.
But the Warriors have gone through those struggles in the name of Wiseman's development. For the time being, that development has been paused, and the Warriors will have to patch together a workable center rotation without him.
