SAN FRANCISCO — Otto Porter Jr.’s position remains up in the air for Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday.
Porter is listed as a suspect with a pain in his right leg at the Chase Center on Friday night for a potential series-cleaning game for the Warriors. Acting head coach Mike Brown said he wasn’t sure what exactly was causing the discomfort, whether it was a play in particular or a post-season grind in general.
Brown said a day earlier that Porter was “fine”, although he would not raise his hand whether the Warriors forward would be available on Friday.
According to Brown, Porter, who suddenly missed the second half of Wednesday’s loss due to pain, did some court work during a Golden State shootaround on Friday morning. That activity included agility drills and some shooting.
“He went through some stuff there, but basically [we need] To see how he feels,” Brown said. “It’s one of those things where it’s wait and see what he says and what our medical team says.”
Limiting the Grizzlies’ lethal infection offense and knocking out an athletically inclined team were two big keys to Golden State’s access to the semi-finals. Porter has been instrumental in the team’s success in both those areas during the series, with the Warriors taking a 3–2 lead in Game 6.
Porter, along with Andrew Wiggins, combined for 54 rebounds in the first five games of the series, during which Golden State ousted the Grizzlies 196–174. When Porter is on the court, the Warriors lead Memphis by nine points, the best ever by any Golden State player.
“He has probably been one of the most important players in this series,” said center Kevon Looney. “Every time he’s on a court, he makes a difference, he makes an impact on both sides of the court. He allows us to unlock a lot of different lineups with his size and his shooting. To be, if he is not able to play, it will be tough. But we live by that strength in numbers and the next man up [mentality.],
Porter has averaged 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds from the bench in the last five games. He has suffered multiple injuries throughout his career, but increasing pain in his right leg appears to be a new issue. The last time he injured his right leg was in 2018.
Meanwhile, coach Steve Kerr remains in the league’s health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 hours before Game 4 and will not be in Friday’s game. It is unclear when Kerr might return, although Brown said he will serve as Warriors head coach “until they tell me.”
And Andre Iguodala, who has been out since April 27 with a neck injury, was ruled out for at least another week on Thursday, effectively destroying any hopes of a timely return to play in the series. terminated from Injuries have limited the 38-year-old Iguodala to only 31 games this season.
A neck injury kept him out for two of the Warriors’ five games in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets and throughout the semifinals. Still, he remains a vital voice on the sidelines, helping young players who are navigating their first NBA postseason.