National Basketball Association

Klay Thompson's injury hurts Warriors' chances at NBA Title

Published May. 30, 2015 2:44 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Enrique Austria

This past Wednesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, All-Star guard Klay Thompson left the court with an injury in the fourth quarter. He sustained the injury when Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza inadvertently kneed him in the head. Originally, the injury was identified as a gash in the right ear, which required stitches. Thompson did not display visible signs of a concussion and was cleared to return shortly after. But, he did not check back in for the rest of the game.

“Klay couldn’t drive home last night and threw up a couple times when he got home,” said the superstar’s father Mychal Thompson. It turns out Thompson did suffer a concussion and this was officially diagnosed Friday. The guard needs to pass the NBA’s concussion protocol in order to return to action. The good news is that he has a week to recuperate and this would give Thompson a better chance to pass the procedures before the NBA Finals start on June 4.

It is not certain whether he will be ready to go by the time the NBA Finals begin. If he is not able to participate in this series, the Golden State Warriors could be in serious trouble. He averaged 21.7 points per game and shot 43.9 percent from three-point range in the 2014-2015 regular season. This postseason, Thompson is averaging 19.7 points per game and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc. They need his contributions and his efforts in order to win.

“Stephen Curry dependency” can only get them so far and they cannot expect to be crowned champions without the other Splash Brother’s efforts. Thompson has displayed that he is able to take some of the pressure off Curry offensively and be a huge scoring threat himself. He can put points up in a hurry and torch defenses with his tremendous shooting and overall ability to score the basketball. On the defensive end, he has proven to be adept and capable defender.

The loss of Thompson will definitely debilitate the Warriors. The Warriors will need to make the necessary adjustments and plan ahead for scenarios where he will not able to play if they hope to beat the Cleveland Cavalier.

The Cavaliers have shown that their team is just as talented, if not more so, than the Golden State Warriors. If their star shooting guard is not able to suit up, the Warriors need to dig deep and players such as Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Festus Ezeli need to continue stepping up and maintaining their elevated level of play. If this does not happen, the Warriors will fall and their NBA Championship aspirations will not be realized.

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