TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 30: Kevon Looney #5 assists Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors off the floor against the Toronto Raptors during Game One of the NBA Finals on May 30, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors are a lot more banged up than the casual fan of the game might realize.
The Golden State Warriors evened up the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors with a competitive, and at times sloppy, Game 2. It was a gritty performance that showed why this team has been the champs so many times before.
With grit comes a cost though, and the Warriors felt that hurt when center Kevon Looney fractured his rib cage during the game.
He’ll be “out indefinitely” according to the team for the series. Basically, Golden State’s depth is truly in question at this moment; they’ll need to play their starters a whole lot of minutes, and that could lead to extra injuries.
The Warriors will absolutely have to lean on center DeMarcus Cousins, who just came back from a torn quad muscle.
Looney missed the second half of Golden State’s 109-104 victory as a result of his injury, but Cousins played well in the big man’s absence. However, head coach Steve Kerr has talked openly in the media about how it’s tough for bigs to regain NBA conditioning, much less NBA Finals conditioning, after a major injury.
There wasn’t a clearly defined moment that the Looney injury occurred, but the Warriors have other injury issues too.
Klay Thompson is expected to play through a hamstring strain, and that will be a key thing to look at in the first quarter of Game 3. The Warriors are also probably playing without two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant due to a calf injury, and Andre Iguodala is dealing with one of those as well.
Basically, if the Raptors can’t take advantage of the Warriors’ vulnerabilities during Game 3, then they are toast. Durant will return eventually, and that will completely change the dynamic of the series. Can Toronto strike will the iron is hot and possibly weak?