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The Golden State Warriors will be short-handed for Wednesday’s Western Conference showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Golden State ruled forward Andrew Wiggins out for the playoff rematch with a non-COVID-19 illness. Wiggins played 27 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
This is not the first time the Kansas product has missed time this season.
He didn’t play any games from Dec. 5 to Jan. 4 because of a strained right adductor and non-COVID-19 illness. The Warriors struggled to find consistency without him during that stretch and went 7-8.
When healthy, Wiggins is a key wing defender who provides secondary scoring alongside Stephen Curry.
He is averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from deep. His ability to hit the three-pointer is key when defenses collapse on Curry, and his defensive presence allows No. 30 and others to expend more of their energy on the offensive side.
Injuries have been an issue for the Warriors this season, as Curry, Klay Thompson, Wiggins and Draymond Green, among others, have all missed time.
That is one reason they are just 23-24 and sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference standings. While they are threats to win the championship after just doing so last season, they may find themselves in the play-in tournament if they don’t get healthier and establish more consistency.
Jordan Poole, Ty Jerome and Donte DiVincenzo will likely see more time while Wiggins is sidelined.
