The injury bug has bitten the Warriors this season at the worst time of the year. It started with Stephen Curry’s thumb injury near the end of the regular season. Followed by Brandin Podziemski in Game 2 of the Rockets series, needing an IV drip due to food poisoning, and Jonathan Kuminga suffering a migraine in Game 5. Now, Steve Kerr has confirmed that the Warriors will be missing Gary Payton II on the floor in Game 7 as he is “sick as a dog” just hours before they are scheduled to play in Houston.
In the pre-game scrum with the Warriors media, Steve Kerr confirmed that Payton woke up very sick in the morning. “He’s just sick as a dog,” said Kerr. “He woke up ill, and didn’t go to shootaround, and he hasn’t eaten. No way he can play.”
This is a big blow for the Warriors, who already struggle on the defensive end of the floor due to the size of the Rockets’ frontcourt. Payton is not only a defensive hustler, but also provided the key offensive input that helped the Warriors ensure a Game 3 win vs. Houston. He scored 16 points off the bench and was a catalyst to their offensive output when Stephen Curry was struggling.
Who Benefits From Gary Payton’s Injury?
Aside from the Rockets having one less defensive guard to worry about, Jonathan Kuminga seems to have a silver lining from this injury update. Kerr admitted that the forward may get more minutes today after falling out of the rotation since Jimmy Butler’s arrival. Kuminga started the season averaging over 30 minutes per game, but ever since Butler’s arrival barely played 20 minutes per game on average.
With Kuminga’s future uncertain at the Warriors, this could be the last opportunity he gets in a Warriors uniform. Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 47 games played this regular season. He only played in two of the six games played so far in this series (Games 2 and 3). Kuminga has averaged 9.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in those two games in the playoffs.
What Does This Mean For The Warriors?
The Warriors will yet again have a new starting lineup in this series after Payton had just broken into the starting five in Game 6 of this series. While Kerr will likely stick with Buddy Hield in the starting line-up, we predict Moses Moody could also start the game today instead of Payton, or at least get significantly more minutes as well, like Kuminga.
Moody has scored double-digit points in three of the six games played in this series. In the Rockets’ dominant Game 5 win over the Warriors, Moody’s 25-point game was a silver lining for them, showing that Moody deserves consideration for starting once again.
The Warriors have a tough task ahead of them going into a Game 7 away from home against one of the more hostile crowds for the Warriors. Since there is no love lost between these teams, we anticipate an extremely competitive matchup. However, Gary Payton’s absence may help Jalen Green get more space, and if Green goes off, then the Rockets are likely not going to lose this game at home.
