Key Warriors Guard Receives Injury Update After Exiting Pelicans Game

It took only 99 seconds on Monday for the Golden State Warriors to lose one of their most important bench players, as guard Brandon Williams left a 138-87 win over the New Orleans Pelicans with a hamstring injury.

Williams checked in late in the first quarter and made two quick layups, but he came up limping after the second one and went to the locker room.

Head coach Steve Kerr called the injury a big concern after the game, when all he knew was that it was a hamstring and that an MRI was coming.

"He's a huge part of our team, and he's given us such a lift," Kerr told reporters before the results came back.

The update came on Tuesday, when ESPN's Anthony Slater reported that Williams has a mild left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in a week.

The San Francisco Chronicle added, citing a source close to Williams, that the MRI showed no tears or structural damage, which is good news, but the strain still rules Williams out for the five-game road trip that starts on Wednesday in Houston.

Williams has been one of the best bargains on the roster since he signed a one-year contract in August, as he is averaging 10.4 points and 2.3 assists in 10 games and came off the bench in nine of them.

ESPN noted that he scored 20 and 17 points in the two games guard Stephen Curry missed, so the Warriors lean on him when Curry is out.

Golden State is 8-3 and has won eight straight games, with Curry still earning high praise from Kerr after the Pelicans win, but the depth behind him is getting thin.

The Warriors already listed six players on the injury report before the Pelicans game, and the backcourt was short even before Williams got hurt.

Guard Will Richard is questionable for Wednesday with a UCL tear in his left thumb, while guard Gary Payton II is out with left knee inflammation.

Guard Moses Moody and forward Jimmy Butler are still recovering from knee injuries, and center Kristaps Porzingis has stepped away from basketball, so there is not much help coming from anywhere else.

Most of the extra minutes should go to guard De'Anthony Melton, who scored 16 points with four 3-pointers on Monday.

Two-way guard LJ Cryer also had 10 points in 20 minutes against New Orleans, and he will have to play far more than his 6.3 minutes per game.

The schedule makes it harder, because the Warriors are 6-1 at home and only 2-2 on the road, and this trip includes an 8-3 Houston team and a 9-2 San Antonio team before it ends with a back-to-back in Dallas and Memphis.

ESPN also noted that Williams has dealt with left hamstring problems before, including a strain in the 2025 preseason while he was with Dallas.

That history is why I would be patient with him even if the check-up goes well.

The Warriors can get through five road games with Melton and Cryer, but they cannot afford to turn a mild strain into a long absence by rushing Williams back.