Warriors' Porter questionable for Game 6 vs. Grizzlies
Coach Kerr remains out, could be back Monday
“Last night for the first time we didn't do a great job of putting bodies on bodies and keeping them off the glass. That's the biggest thing.”
— Mike Brown,
Warriors acting head coach.
Otto Porter Jr., a crucial part of the Warriors' success against Memphis, is listed as questionable for Friday night's Game 6 in San Francisco.
Porter missed the second half of Golden State's Game 5 loss in Memphis with right foot soreness. Acting head coach Mike Brown said Porter is “fine,” but could not provide any further details as the Warriors did not practice Thursday. Brown, meanwhile, will coach the team for a third straight game Friday night. Steve Kerr will miss Game 6 with COVID-19 and Brown will continue acting as head coach until Kerr returns. Kerr may be able to return to coach Monday for a potential Game 7 (or Game 1 of the conference finals) if testing data shows he is not contagious at that point.
Without Kerr and possibly Porter, the Warriors' task Friday night obviously gets tougher.
The Warriors' success against the Grizzlies depends partially on their ability to outrebound them and limit their potent transition offense. Porter's rebounding, along with that of Andrew Wiggins, helped Golden State outrebound the Grizzlies 196174 through the first four games of the series.
The Grizzlies won the rebound battle 63-45 Wednesday night in a blowout Warriors loss.
“Last night for the first time we didn't do a great job of putting bodies on bodies and keeping them off the glass,” Brown said. “That's the biggest thing.”
Desperate to even the rebounding numbers, Brown tried to put Draymond Green and Kevon Looney on the floor together for a period of time, but that left the Warriors with a dearth of scoring options. With Porter out, Brown also turned to Nemanja Bjelica — who had only seen garbage time action this series — for some weak-side rebounding help.
Golden State is outscoring Memphis by an average of nine points per game with Porter on the floor, the best mark among all Warriors players. Jordan Poole follows with a plus-3.2. Before Wednesday's 39-point loss, Porter and Poole were Nos. 1 and 2 across the league in the second round with a plus-13.3 and plus12.3.
Poole has hit a slump since Grizzlies star Ja Morant was sidelined with a knee injury after Game 3. Since Memphis has clogged the paint with Steven Adams, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke, Poole has been shying away from downhill drives to the rim that helped spark the Warriors' offense at the beginning of this series.
Brown said the Warriors are hoping Poole can play “aggressive and free and confident like he's capable of.”
Green said on his podcast Thursday that the Warriors' game plan heading into the series centered around Morant. With Morant out of the equation — he is listed as out for Game 6 — Green said the Warriors have to go back to the drawing board.
A Morant-less Grizzlies team shares the ball more and, with Adams back, has a stronger defensive presence in the paint that's thrown Poole off-kilter.
Andre Iguodala will also be out for the remainder of this series and be reevaluated for his neck injury a week from Thursday, the Warriors said. The neck injury has kept Iguodala, 38, out for the entire Western Conference semifinals after it limited him to three games in the first round against Denver.
Iguodala has been a crucial voice on the sideline, though, coaching younger players who are navigating their first playoff experience.
The Warriors hold a 3-2 series lead over the Grizzlies heading into Friday night's game, tipping off at 7 p.m. at Chase Center.