When the Golden State Warriors tip off from Oracle Arena tonight against the hungry Toronto Raptors, they will be without the services of Kevin Durant (calf strain) and Kevon Looney (fractured collar bone cartilage). But the Warriors players who can suit up are in banged-up condition: DeMarcus Cousins (quad tear), Stephen Curry (dislocated finger, illness) and Andre Iguodala (calf strain).
At this point, forward Draymond Green is the lone healthy starter, while Klay Thompson — listed as day-to-day but with designs on playing no matter what — is officially marked questionable for Game 3.
Thompson strained his left hamstring with just under 11 minutes in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Raptors. Of the awkward landing leading to the injury, Thompson said:
I anticipated getting hit, which I probably shouldn’t have done. I landed awkwardly, just kind of tweaked my hamstring. When you’re moving, it’s all good. But right when you stop moving around, it just really tightened up on me like a knot and I couldn’t really get any full motion anymore.
He was done for the night, seen walking normally after the game and tested his hammy in practice on Tuesday, June 4. But if he misses Game 3, it will be the first missed playoff game of his career with the Warriors. To date, Thompson has played in every playoff game, totaling 120 postseason contests.
Thompson is one of the more durable players in the league, but if it comes down to giving the Splash Brother more time to heal and risking a Game 3 loss or putting him in for a Game 3 win only to lose him for the rest of the Finals, it is clear what Warriors coach Steve Kerr and medical staff should do.
In a physical, testy contest, Golden State should consider that they’ll need Thompson through Game 7 and manage his return accordingly — no matter the protestations of the superstar shooter.
Game 3 tips off from Oakland, Calif. at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
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