Draymond Green Ruled Out for Warriors vs. Nuggets With Calf Injury

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Denver Nuggets with right calf tightness, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews.

Green was initially listed as questionable for the matchup with a foot ailment.

The 32-year-old battled injuries last season, missing nearly two months and the All-Star Game after suffering a disc injury in his lower back.

"I want to feel good about my game, I want to feel good about my conditioning and I want to feel good about my body. And that takes time to get all three of those things on the same page," Green said in early February. "I am locked into the process of getting there. But I need those three things to align just because of the nature of the injury."

Unfortunately, the star forward finds himself yet again dealing with injury. And that's a major blow for a Dubs team with title aspirations.

While Green's stats last season don't jump off the paper—he averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and seven assists per game, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 29.6 from three—he's the team's defensive keystone and its best playmaker on offense.

Through 46 games this season, Green is averaging 7.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor and 32.5 percent from deep.

Steph Curry is the team's superstar, the return of Klay Thompson was the biggest story of last season, and the improvement of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole was one the biggest reasons the Dubs went from missing the playoffs to winning a title.

But Green is in many ways the heart of the Warriors and certainly the glue that holds the defense together. That makes him uniquely difficult to replace. While he's out, look for Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green to see a bigger role.