The Dubs suddenly have a hurdle in an otherwise successful stretch! De’Anthony Melton, who recently impressed the Bay Area with his tenacity on the court, seemed like the perfect solution for Coach Steve Kerr’s starting lineup confusions. Unfortunately, he suffered a sprained left ACL during the Tuesday night game against the Mavericks. The timeline of his return, however, has been simultaneously raising concerns in the Warriors fold. Amid this situation, a medical expert dropped a crucial insight on the star guard.

In the NBA Cup opener against the Mavericks, De’Anthony Melton showcased his prowess as one of the best two-way guards on the floor. On one end, he was locking down Kyrie Irving with his on-the-face defense. On the other end, he sunk 6 crucial buckets, including a clutch 3-pointer before Stephen Curry closed out the game. However, Melton seemed visibly in discomfort, limping at the late end of the game. Notably, at one point, he even rolled his ankle.

Nevertheless, there wasn’t any clarity on when he suffered the ACL injury, but the team announced the devastating news one day after the game. While GSW announced that he won’t the Friday’s game against the Grizzlies, they didn’t announce when he would return.

Amid this concern, Dr. Nirav Pandya, a renowned orthopedic, revealed the complication and stated that De’Anthony Melton should avoid returning quicker to the court. Dr. Pandya said, “Hopefully it’s a minor (grade 1) sprain without any major compromise of the ligament. If pain/swelling get under control and the knee feels stable, then it could be a relatively short absence,” via X.

While the severity of the injury is unknown, the Dubs Nations’ fingers are crossed. Besides that, Dr. Pandya also wrote, “Hoping more tests don’t show a more severe injury pattern.” So, what now?

Will De’Anthony Melton’s absence land the Golden State Warriors in trouble?

Well, looking at the Warriors’ depth, they certainly aren’t in trouble by any means. Especially, Coach Kerr has flexed his 12-man rotation unit multiple times in pressers. However, Melton’s absence will indeed have an impact on the Bay Area side’s starting lineup.

Speaking of the injury, Steve Kerr said, “It’s disappointing. That was really the perfect mix. De’Anthony does a little bit of everything: on-ball defense, rebounding, 3-point shooting, playmaking. It was a great fit, and that’s why we targeted him.”

Notably, the 9x NBA Champ is frustrated, as he added, “The fact that he’s going to be out the next game is a bummer. We were finding some momentum. We’ll see how this unfolds. We’ve got options, we’ve got a lot of depth, and we were very capable of filling in. But it’s very disappointing for him and for us.”

De’Anthony Melton has already missed four games with a lower back strain, at the same time as Stephen Curry had the scary ankle injury. Then, Steve Kerr made multiple changes to the starting lineup by swapping the backcourt with Gary Payton II, Brandin Podziemski, Lindy Water III, and Moses Moody. So, until Melton returns to the starting fold, the head coach would again be finding his second-best starting lineup. Which is your best starting lineup for the Dubs? Let us know in the comments.