The Golden State Warriors could still be without a pair of key longtime contributors on Friday night in a game with major playoff implications. The good news? The two-time defending champions will be getting their best defensive big man back just in time to match up with Nikola Jokic.
Both Klay Thompson and Shaun Livingston were listed as questionable for the Warriors' game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, while Kevon Looney should apparently be ready to play.
Klay Thompson and Shaun Livingston, who didn’t practice today, are questionable for Friday. Kevon Looney should be good to go.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) March 6, 2019
Klay Thompson has missed his team's last two contests with soreness in his right knee. He was especially missed in Tuesday's humiliating loss to the Boston Celtics, when Golden State simply had no answer for Brad Stevens' topsy-turvy squad on defense. The Warriors certainly could have used his imminently flammable 3-point stroke when trying to make a failed second-half run.
Shaun Livingston was a late scratch for Tuesday's game due to a neck spasm. His absence wasn't announced until tipoff had already begun, and he also played his normal role in Golden State's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Coupled with his status as questionable against the Nuggets, those details certainly make it seem like Livingston's injury is of the minor variety.
The same can definitely be said for a groin injury that kept Kevon Looney out of the team's last two games. Though the reigning champions certainly have enough depth and overall talent to withstand his absence, Looney's presence should loom especially large as Golden State tries its best to mitigate Jokic's all-court effectiveness as a playmaker and scorer.
The Warriors, losers of five of eight, are now just one and-a-half games ahead of the second-placed Nuggets in the Western Conference standings.
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