Nuggets Journal: Sorry, Draymond. This season’s about survival, not sanctity.

Warriors manager Steve Kerr accepts what Draymond Green does not: successful the NBA, sometimes beingness isn’t fair.

After Thursday’s Denver-Golden State crippled was postponed, Green vented to his 1.5 cardinal Twitter followers astir competitory disadvantages and scheduling makeups that would, successful his opinion, inevitably wounded the Warriors.

Never caput that the adjacent clip the Nuggets spot the Warriors, Golden State volition apt person Green retired of wellness and information protocols arsenic good arsenic Klay Thompson backmost from his seasons-long absence. The Nuggets were exceedingly bladed Thursday, and the NBA chopped them immoderate slack, Green surmised.

But that glosses implicit the NBA regularisation mandating determination beryllium astatine slightest 8 steadfast players available.

To get to that number, 1 of Aaron Gordon, Monte Morris, Austin Rivers oregon Vlatko Cancar would’ve needed to play contempt being listed arsenic questionable connected the wounded report. All the injuries were legitimate, league sources said, and adjacent if 1 oregon 2 of those players could’ve played immoderate information Thursday night, ideate the workload that would’ve been near to starters similar Nikola Jokic and Will Barton.

Ultimately, a applicable determination was made to postpone the game, whether Green liked it oregon not.

“No, I wasn’t upset,” Warriors manager Steve Kerr said aft his squad held signifier successful lieu of the postponed game. “I recognize our players’ frustration. This is simply a truly hard concern for the league to navigate. Nothing is just astir it, for anybody. Some teams are connected the abbreviated extremity of it, similar we were the different night. We’re conscionable trying to survive. The league’s conscionable trying to support things rolling arsenic we get done this variant of COVID. And hopefully, wrong a fewer weeks we get done it, we tin get backmost to semi-normalcy wherever we were astatine the opening of the year.”

On Dec. 19 the Nuggets were connected the abbreviated extremity of it themselves erstwhile Denver took a useless travel to Brooklyn for a crippled that ne'er got played due to the fact that of the Nets’ outbreak. If it does get played, it volition people Denver’s 3rd travel to New York this season.

Such are the conditions and caveats erstwhile trying to play done a pandemic.

The NBA has made its docket clear. Regardless of docket disadvantages oregon depleted, G-League filled rosters, it’s going to forge on. Whether it’s the close happening to bash oregon not, Commissioner Adam Silver has said that we, arsenic a society, indispensable larn to co-exist with COVID. Translation: the games aren’t going anywhere.

The league made a important — and telling — determination erstwhile it decided to ramp up its investigating protocol aft the holidays but not earlier its marquee Christmas slate. Full-fledged investigating anterior to Christmas Day would’ve ensured immoderate asymptomatic cases would’ve been found. But that’s not what happened.

As Kerr said, this is astir survival. Complaining astir just oregon unfair, arsenic Green did, is trivial and useless. In a play arsenic chaotic arsenic this one, determination volition beryllium much instances wherever the Warriors (and 29 different teams) volition beryllium slighted connected immoderate fixed night.

The NBA is determined to play its play out, adjacent arsenic affirmative cases among players and coaches proceed to surge.

“I’m definite (Commissioner) Adam Silver would archer you, ‘This is not astir just and unfair,’ Kerr said. “This is conscionable astir making definite we support the league going and proceed done to get to the different side.’”