OAKLAND, Calif. — The juggernaut Warriors have proven they can win without Kevin Durant. They have not proven they can win without Durant and Klay Thompson.
That may be the predicament in Game 3, when the 1-1 NBA Finals series shifts to Oracle Arena as the depleted Warriors host the healthy Raptors. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Warriors have a 3-5 record in the regular season when both Durant and Thompson do not play in the same game. Both have not missed the same playoff game.
Durant was not cleared for practice Tuesday and will miss Game 3. Thompson did shooting drills but his status is up in the air despite his optimism and hope.
After all the rhetoric, Thompson boiled his status down to how much pain he feels in his injured hamstring on certain moves when he gets together with the trainers Wednesday. He said he was “very encouraged’’ he will be allowed play and has a history of coming back earlier than expected, but said the medical staff makes the final call.
Thompson is the franchise leader in playoff appearances. He has a 120-game playoff streak on the line. Since Thompson arrived, the Warriors have never not had him for a playoff game.
“It will be a game-time decision,’’ Thompson said. “But for me personally, it would be hard to see me not playing. Hopefully I’ll feel much better [Wednesday] and be a go for tipoff. I would do anything I can to be out there, but it’s all in their hands. If there’s any pain, it will be a no-go just because of the position we’re in.’’
If Thompson returns too soon, he could reinjure his hamstring and be done until next season. If he plays, Thompson indicated he could be “at 80 percent’’ but still effective.
“This could be a longer series, so there’s no point in trying to go out there and re-aggravate it and potentially keep myself out of the whole entire Finals,’’ said Thompson, a free agent who figures to re-sign with Golden State.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t seem to think Thompson would miss beyond Game 4.
“What we’ll have to determine is, is that a risk?’’ Kerr said of a Game 3 return. “If he plays, are we risking anything? If the training staff feels good about his ability to go out there and play without making things worse, then he’ll play. But if there’s a risk, we would rather give him the next couple of days to continue to heal and hopefully have him out there for Game 4.”
Durant’s future on the court and off is a bigger mystery. Out a month with a calf strain, he did not participate in practice Tuesday, but Game 4 Friday has not been ruled out. Kerr said Durant is “ramping up his exercise routine.’’
Durant will need to practice between Games 3 and 4, but there’s just one day off. Kerr has said Durant could return after one practice.
“Kevin is going to get on the floor at the practice facility later [Tuesday],’’ Kerr said. “He did not get on the floor here. He was here for our film session and for some treatment.’’
Dr. Rich Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, will be heavily involved in determining Thompson’s playing status. Celebrini watches practices closely and judges a player on movements. However, the hamstring is a trickier thing with Thompson indicating it depends on where the pain occurs during workouts.
“Probably if you only feel it on a certain couple moves, you’re fine,’’ Thompson said. “But if you feel it every step of the way, that’s not a good sign. I do not feel it with every move I make, only on certain ones. So you can kind of play through that. But if it was something that was consistent whenever I move my leg or every sharp cut or every sprint, that would not be good. That’s very encouraging.”
Thompson’s defense is phenomenal and Kerr tried him on Raptors star Kawhi Leonard for parts of Game 2. On the 25 possessions Sunday in which Thompson stalked Leonard, the Raptors’ star was 1-of-5 for five points. The Warriors are also without backup big man Kevon Looney, lost for the series with a broken collarbone suffered in Game 2.
“We all just understand the moment and we’re very locked in and focused on adapting to the circumstances that are thrown at us right now with a lot of injuries and kind of uncertainty of even who is going to be able to play,’’ Stephen Curry said.
