Chelsea Lane might be most important Warrior you don’t know

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CLEVELAND — As the Warriors’ head performance therapist, Chelsea Lane juggles numerous roles: psychologist, doctor, adviser, trainer, friend and even part-time comedian.

The crux of her duties, however, can be distilled to three words — “maximize player availability” — toward the top of her staff bio at warriors.com. In a season nearly derailed by injuries to core players, Lane has been the most important member of Golden State who still maintains a degree of anonymity.

Now, as the Warriors prepare for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night against the Cavaliers, Lane is as busy as ever. In addition to trying to get Andre Iguodala — the LeBron James-stopper who has been sidelined two weeks by a left lateral leg contusion/bone bruise — back in the lineup, she is working almost nonstop to make sure every available player is at his best.

Lane, who declined to be interviewed for this story, takes Stephen Curry through daily exercises aimed at preventing another ankle or knee injury. After Klay Thompson sustained a high left ankle sprain in Game 1, Lane gave him around-the-clock treatment over three days, getting him healthy enough to score 20 points in Game 2. There are a host of other ailments plaguing Golden State that the public is unaware of, thanks to Lane’s diligence and expertise.

“She's been huge, just being there for us,” Curry said before practice Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena. “Every guy kind of copes with injuries differently. ... She’s been big in helping us through the recovery process and kind of giving us the game plan of how we can get back on the floor.”

Warriors players have missed a combined 189 games (162 in the regular season, 27 in the postseason) because of injury, which are the second most in Steve Kerr’s four seasons. It is who missed time — not just how much total time was missed — that matters.

When Golden State players were sidelined for a combined 205 games (173 in the regular season, 32 in the playoffs) in 2015-16, most of those absences came from role players such as Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. That’s in stark contrast to this season, when each of the Warriors’ top five players — Curry (37 total absences), Thompson (nine), Iguodala (24), Kevin Durant (14) and Draymond Green (12) — have missed extended time.

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Golden State Warriors' head performance therapist Chelsea Lane during practice in advance of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quickens Loan Arena in Cleveland, OH on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Golden State Warriors' head performance therapist Chelsea Lane during practice in advance of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quickens Loan Arena in Cleveland, OH on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Chelsea Lane might be most important Warrior you don’t know 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Though Golden State ranks only 18th in the 30-team NBA in combined games players have missed because of injury, it is tied with San Antonio for the league lead in injury impact, per mangameslost.com.

That site used a formula called the Lost-vorp injury metric — which takes into account what a team is missing in a player’s absence — to determine that Curry’s 31 regular-season absences negatively affected his team as much as any player outside of the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, who was limited to nine games by a quad injury.

What those numbers fail to quantify, however, is the mental toll such injuries take on players.

When Curry missed most of March and April with ankle and knee injuries, Lane stayed in Oakland with him while the team was on road trips. Her mini-pep talks during treatment helped the two-time MVP keep perspective. In those quiet moments, Lane lightened the mood with a joke when she sensed Curry was down.

“She's been amazing, especially for me,” said Curry, who showed no lingering signs of injury as he totaled 62 points, 17 assists and 13 rebounds in Games 1 and 2 of the Finals. “Just thinking about all that I've been through this year with the ankle and the knee and all that type of stuff, she’s just kept me sane.”

Owned by venture capitalists who invest in companies they don’t necessarily control, the Warriors operate under the belief that the right hire doesn’t always meet traditional qualifications. This is the franchise that hired a general manager who had not worked for a team and two head coaches who hadn’t coached at any level.

In 2015, when she got a call from team management asking if she was interested in a new position it was creating, Lane had not heard of the Warriors. Born and raised in rural Australia, she’d spent the previous nine years working with New Zealand’s Olympic teams.

Over the past three seasons, she deftly has managed a staff of 25 people charged with keeping the Warriors’ roster on its game, both physically and mentally. Her steely demeanor — a necessity for a woman in a business run by men — helps set a professional tone. As time has passed, she gradually has grown more comfortable showing other sides of her personality.

“Being able to get her message across with some humor and some wit, I think that’s pretty special,” guard Shaun Livingston said. “She’s done an outstanding job.”

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No injury has threatened Golden State’s push for a third championship in four years more than the bone bruise in Iguodala’s left knee. Without the 2015 Finals MVP to steady the offense or help guard James Harden, the Warriors dropped Games 4 and 5 of the Western Conference finals to dig a 3-2 series hole against the Rockets.

After Golden State escaped Houston with a Game 7 victory to earn a fourth straight Finals berth, Kerr told ESPN’s the Undefeated that “we would have won the series in five if Iggy played.” Now, after giving up a combined 80 points on 29-for-52 (55.8 percent) shooting, 17 rebounds and 21 assists to James in Games 1 and 2, the Warriors eagerly await Iguodala’s return.

He participated in his first full practice Tuesday since the injury and is listed as questionable for Game 3. In the hours until tip-off, Lane will go to work, providing treatment in hopes that Iguodala can return to the sport’s biggest stage.

“Chelsea’s been huge since she’s been here,” said Thompson, who credits Lane for helping him get on the court for Game 2. “She’s very knowledgeable. She keeps the training room lighthearted, because you really don’t want to be there that much as a pro.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron