Warriors’ Otto Porter Jr. Won’t Return to Game 3 vs. Mavericks Because of Foot Injury
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The Golden State Warriors will be short-handed for the rest of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Golden State announced Otto Porter Jr. was ruled out for the second half of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals with left foot soreness. The team previously announced he was undergoing X-rays on his foot.
Porter limped off the floor in the first half and was noticeably grimacing after he landed on a layup attempt.
While Porter isn’t starting for the Warriors at this point, he has been an important presence off the bench. That is especially true with Gary Payton II and Andre Iguodala sidelined with their own injuries.
The Georgetown product finished Game 1’s win with 10 points and six rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and then followed with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Game 2 victory.
An extended absence for Porter would spell trouble for Golden State.
Its already limited bench rotation would become even shorter, meaning Juan Toscano-Anderson and Moses Moody would have additional responsibilities. Jordan Poole is already a major factor in the rotation and someone the Warriors rely on to create his own shots and carry the offense when Stephen Curry is resting, but there aren’t many other reliable options.
Porter averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a night in 63 games during the regular season.
He is no longer the player who averaged double-digit points per game for five straight seasons when he was in his prime, but he has also bounced back after he appeared in 28 contests in 2021-22 and 14 games in 2019-20.
The forward won’t have much time to recover before Game 4, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
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