No timetable for Steph Currys return means Warriors stuck in purgatory

SAN FRANCISCO — Will Richard wore a walking boot on his right foot.Moses Moody jammed his wrist and banged his shoulder and watched most of the second half from the locker room.And those were just the players not already on the Warriors’ injury report before this week.The attrition continued to catch up to an undermanned Golden State squad, which allowed a 17-point lead to evaporate Monday night in a 114-101 loss to the Clippers.Steve Kerr took it a step further afterward, describing the Warriors as “severely” undermanned.

He’s not wrong when his team has no idea when Steph Curry or Kristaps Porzingis will play again — and, in Jimmy Butler’s case, knows it will not be until next season.The fact that the Warriors were able to zoom out to a 44-27 advantage was probably more notable than a team led by Kawhi Leonard outscoring them 87-57 the rest of the way.The 17-point lead before halftime was the biggest the Warriors have relinquished this season.Afterward, Kerr praised Leonard as “probably the best player in the league for the last month.” The same couldn’t be said for anybody in uniform for the Warriors at any point in their careers.The boisterous Brandin Podziemski might disagree, and he at least looked like arguably the best player on the floor while scoring 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in the first half.But he disappeared after intermission and contributed only one more basket — a potential three-point play that he couldn’t convert at the foul line.Draymond Green was attached to Leonard at the hip and contained him to eight points and only six shot attempts in the first half.

But Green wore down, and Leonard extended his streak of scoring 20 or more to a 38th consecutive game, scoring 15 while going 6-of-8 from the field as the Clippers outscored the Warriors 72-45 in the second half.Matching substitution patterns almost to a tee, the Warriors finished minus-18 during Green’s minutes; the Clippers were plus-16 with Leonard on the cour...