Klay Thompson's Ankle Reportedly in 'Pretty Bad Shape'

The Warriors will be facing off against their Western Conference nemesis in the Houston Rockets in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Unfortunately, it sounds like they may not be at full strength to take on James Harden and Chris Paul’s squad.

Warriors and Athletic columnist Marcus Thompson reports that Klay Thompson’s ankle is in ‘pretty bad shape’ ahead of their second round matchup. Thompson injured his ankle during Game 6 against the Clippers. Steve Kerr called the sprain ‘significant’ during a media appearance on Saturday.

Having Thompson at full health for the Rockets series is key to the Warriors continuing their dynasty. Not only is Thompson a danger to go off from beyond the arc at any given time, he’s been the primary defender on MVP candidate James Harden in the past, and has done as good of a job as anyone in the league. If Thompson is even at 75%, the Warriors might need to use Kevin Durant on Harden, which could impact his offensive game.

Thompson is a tough dude who will play through an injury in the playoffs, but any defender needs to be in peak condition to have a prayer of stopping Harden, who has been nigh unstoppable in 2019. This year’s Warriors don’t have much quality depth; that’s not a problem when you have Durant and Steph Curry on the same team, but in the playoffs, it can come back to haunt you when a key guy goes down. Someone like Thompson.

It’s worth keeping an eye on Thompson as more news emerges.