Warriors’ Harrison Barnes itches to return, but ankle not ready

SALT LAKE CITY — Harrison Barnes watched Monday morning's shootaround with his sprained left ankle stretched out in front of him and his crutches resting on the seat beside him. The team's medical staff will re-evaluate Barnes' ankle Sunday — meaning he'll also miss Wednesday's game at Charlotte and Saturday's at Toronto — and a renowned foot and ankle surgeon believes Barnes could miss much more time. "It's been pretty well established that high ankle sprains take a longer recovery period," said Dr. Ken Jung, a foot and ankle surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. Through rest, ice and taping or bracing, Barnes will eventually advance to putting weight on his left foot and then probably do a battery of balancing and strengthening drills before progressing to running, jumping and cutting. A team staffer put Thompson's bio, which includes the 28-1 season, in his locker Monday night and included this good-natured message: "Elias confirmed this is the most losses for an undefeated team in history."