Warriors big man Kevon Looney will play in Game 4 of The Finals on Friday despite a fracture adjacent to his collarbone, Ben Golliver of the Washington Post tweets.
Coach Steve Kerr said that after receiving a second medical opinion, Looney is physically able to return to action. “The guy is tough and wants to play,” Kerr said. “The injury is in an area where it will give him a shot to play.”
The official term of Looney’s injury is a costal cartilage fracture. The surprising development of Looney’s possible return surfaced on Thursday. He was injured during Game 2 of the series.
Looney’s impact goes well beyond the stat sheet. He’s the most mobile of the Warriors’ frontcourt rotation players and serves a major role in their pick-and-roll defense.
Golden State will also have Klay Thompson back in the lineup after he missed Game 3 with a mild hamstring strain, though Kevin Durant remains sidelined with his calf injury. Kerr said he hopes Durant can return for Game 5 or 6, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets.
4th championship confirmed
Repeatedly setting picks with a fractured collar really doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Probably should avoid doing that. But if Cousins doesn’t play like he did in gm2, Looney’s gotta get out there and stay awhile. I’m not a doctor but… is the cartilage really very load-bearing? (wonders Durant)
This is probably about him giving it a try. If Looney gets bumped pretty hard in the injured area he may not be able to play a lot of minutes. I commend him for wanting to be out there and giving it a shot to see if he can sustain the grind of a game.
Same with Klay I believe. Going to give it a shot but any stress to the injured area and these two might not play a lot of minutes.
“The guy is tough and wants to play”. Hopefully that is a low key dig at KD, soft serve little bizzo.
Or maybe it easier to play with that injury than a calf injury that would affect your running and jumping but what do I know
Kd needs acouple weeks tho
Seriously, any GSW “fan” banging on KD is a real piece of doom. If they lose this Finals and he walks I guarantee you’ll regret it.
Poo…..a real piece of poo.
It might mean the opposite. Losing the finals without KD proves they need him. He might now what to stay even more since he knows they need him and not win without his play. it makes him look even more better.
he looks 50
What a gutsy game from Looney. Obviously he’s hurting, but he left it all on the floor. Tied with Draymond for the 3rd highest scoring Warrior.