Despite being active for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Klay Thompson didn’t play a single second in the Warriors’ 123-109 loss to the Raptors. A hamstring injury he suffered in Game 2 was the main cause.
They could have used him too. Not just on the offensive side of the ball, but defensively Thompson may have been able to contain some of the huge shots made by Fred Van Vleet throughout the game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t want to risk it though. Despite the result, for Kerr the health of Thompson was far more important than the result of Game 3 because he was concerned that Thompson might re-injure himself. If that happened Thompson could suffer a far greater injury that would keep him out for longer than just Game 3.
Here’s what Kerr told reporters after the game:
“Well, the whole point was to not risk a bigger injury that would keep him out of the rest of the series. So that was the decision we made, and I feel very comfortable with it.
Never would have forgiven myself if I played him tonight and he had gotten hurt. So you live with the decision you make, you make a wise decision, the wisest one you can, and then you live with it and move forward. So the good thing is Klay has done well the last two days; now he has a couple more days to heal, and hopefully he’ll be out there on Friday.”
Coaches and the front office have to make the tough decisions that players don’t like. Had it been up to Thompson, he would have played. He was reportedly trying to convince the Warriors to let him play before the game, but the team eventually chose not to put him out there.
Was this the correct decision? From a health standpoint, absolutely. The Warriors can’t risk one of their key stars getting hurt even worse when they’re already this banged up. They’ll need Thompson later in the series. Especially if Kevin Durant doesn’t come back like planned. Golden State will have to hope this gamble pays off because right now it’s down 2-1 in the series with only two of a potential seven games left in Oracle.
