The Golden State Warriors got the split they needed in Toronto, but it came with a price. Klay Thompson went down with a hamstring injury while Kevon Looney broke his collar bone. Steve Kerr told the media on Tuesday that Thompson is questionable for Wednesday's Game 3 while Looney is out indefinitely, unlikely to return in the series. As for Kevin Durant, he too will miss Game 3, raising doubts about his availability for the rest of the series.
The Warriors are used to playing without Durant, so whether he returns or not doesn't matter much in my opinion. I don't mean to degrade Durant, but as I said a week ago, I feel the Warriors actually play better without him. He commands too much attention and gets other guys out of their flow. So once again, the Warriors shouldn't stress too much about losing him.
As for Looney, his absence is significant in that the Warriors don't have much of a front court. DeMarcus Cousins is back but still kind of fragile while Andrew Bogut hasn't been used to logging heavy minutes. Both guys will need to step it up in Looney's absence and spend a fair amount of time playing together. Whether they can make a huge impact in the paint against Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol will be put to the test in Game 3.
Lastly, the potential absence of Thompson looms large. He's been a huge part of what the Warriors do, scoring 25 points in Sunday's Game 2 win before injuring his hamstring. If he's out, the Warriors lose their second best offensive weapon, putting a ton of pressure on Stephen Curry. The Warriors can win this series without Durant and Looney. I'm not sure they can win this series without Thompson. His presence is vital to their success.
Hopefully for the Warriors, they'll be able to get these guys back. Especially Thompson. If they're forced to soldier on without them for the remainder of this series, the Raptors will be in the driver's seat to win the title.
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