Third-year center Damian Jones tore a pectoral muscle back in December, and he’s been shelved because of the lengthy rehab process required for the injury. Because of his age and the fact that the Warriors still have him under contract for next season, it was believed that Jones wouldn’t see the court again this season, instead giving him the rest of the season and the offseason to prepare for what will be a contract year for Jones.
Because he’s had the injury before and the return from the injury was about five months, there was always a chance Jones could return this year during the playoffs — and that chance is starting to feel more like a reality. According to NBC Sports’ Logan Murdock, Jones is set to be cleared for contact next week.
As of right now, there’s no telling what the timetable would be to a full return to the court after he is cleared for contact. There are some timing things, some physicality things and some stamina things that Jones is going to have to work through before seeing the court for playoff basketball.
However, considering the potential bigs that the Warriors could see in the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals (Nikola Jokic, Enes Kanter, Al Horford, Joel Embiid, Marc Gasol and Robin Lopez), the Warriors can use all the help in the frontcourt they can get.
