The injury bug has turned into a full-blown crisis for the Golden State Warriors. Already missing a massive portion of their veteran core, the Warriors watched as Kristaps Porzingis and rookie Malevy Leons both exited a physical contest against the Pistons. After resetting realistic standards for the postseason, Steve Kerr is once again forced to make a painful admission: The compounding losses and the sight of another starter limping to the locker room is having a visible impact on team spirit.

After a 115-101 loss to the Pistons, Kerr started his post-game presser with a bleak update on Porzingis. “I saw him and he said it was his back had started to tighten up. And then there was the play where the ball was deflected off his hand; he got a little push in the back and that aggravated it a little bit. But I don’t know anything beyond that.”

That leaves Porzingis’ availability up in the air against the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow. But the impact began as soon as he had to leave the floor tonight. When asked if Kristaps’ injury exit affected team morale, Kerr had an unequivocal reply. “Yeah, for sure.”

“I thought we were hanging in there in the first half, but when he went out, obviously to take away our space, five against a great defensive team, it was going to be hard to find openings. Second half just got away from us,” Kerr told the media.

Kristaps Porzingis has been a vital floor-spacer for the Warriors since the February 4 trade, whenever he’s been healthy. But even he had to contend with his own availability issues and an old ailment.

“Kind of started feeling it from the first quarter…” Porzingis said about his recurring back issues. He claimed it was fine during warm-ups but something flared up during a play. “Once I cool down it’ll tighten up even more,” he said.

“Early in my career, I had back issues a little bit… right now it’s pretty stiff.” When asked if he could play in Saturday’s back-to-back, his outlook was grim. “Probably. We’ll see. Maybe it loosens up tomorrow, who knows, but right now it’s pretty stiff.”

Porzingis’ 30-points were critical in the Warriors’ most recent win in a long time against the Washington Wizards. He had another viral moment tonight where he made his displeasure with Brandin Podziemski’s turnover very obvious. So not having his veteran presence is a visible blow to the team.

Warriors’ low morale without Kristaps Porzingis was visible

The timing is catastrophic for a Warriors team that arrived at Little Caesars Arena with an injury report that read like a hospital intake form. This team was already without franchise icon Stephen Curry (knee), Al Horford (calf), and Seth Curry (adductor). They are also missing Jimmy Butler III, who remains sidelined following ACL surgery, and Moses Moody (wrist).

Meanwhile, the Pistons’ are in ‘next man up’ mode after Cade Cunningham’s devastating lung collapse. The loss of Porzingis’ spacing allowed the Pistons’ “wrecking crew” as Steve Kerr termed it, to smother what’s left of the Warriors, turning a competitive first half into a second half blowout.

It was literal insult to injury as rookie Malevy Leons appeared to suffer a wrist injury of his own. “Looked like his wrist maybe, but haven’t talked to anybody with the staff,” Kerr noted.

This wave of pain and woe might be pushing this team to its breaking point. Previously, Steve Kerr declared they’re looking for just two wins to get the eighth seed ahead of Curry’s impending return. He’s been forced to rely on heavy minutes from Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green just to stay afloat. But even that’s not going well with Podz’s mistakes mounting.

Tonight, even Draymond Green, who went scoreless for 22 minutes, seemingly gave up because he was spotted hosting a mini meet-and-greet with Pistons fans before the game was even up. The Dubs were down 20 at this point without Porzingis. So it seems that he meant it when he said he was “sick” of being stuck in play-in contention.

The declining morale will only be tested further. The team must now prepare for a back-to-back without knowing if they will have enough healthy bodies to fill a traditional rotation. For a team already frustrated by the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rules the physical toll of the 2025-26 season is becoming their greatest opponent.