Golden State Warriors punted Game 3 of 2019 NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors ultimately decided that having Klay Thompson healthy for four games was more important than rolling the dice on one.

The Golden State Warriors made a strategic decision that resulted in a 123-109 Game 3 NBA Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors and put the two-time defending champions behind in the series. It was a bit of a punt, to be honest. Klay Thompson, who injured his hamstring in Game 2, really wanted to play, but the coaching staff decided that it was more important for him to play in the latter half of the series than in the game on Wednesday.

The result of that choice is a possibility that Game 4 will be the final game the Warriors play in Oakland.

They lost despite Stephen Curry scoring 47 points, a postseason high for him, and that should be the most concerning part of this for them. The point guard was apparently behind the team sitting Thompson, though.

“I think wisdom prevailed in terms of this is a potentially seven-game series,” Curry said about keeping the shooting guard out of the game. “And you would like to take advantage of tonight, but his overall health is important in terms of not taking away the rest of the series with something catastrophic happening. So hopefully he’s back for Game 4.”

The Warriors were also without Kevin Durant due to a calf injury and Kevon Looney to a fractured rib cage. Looney will likely not be back in this series, but Durant could make an appearance in Game 4.

Steve Kerr claims that he never would’ve forgiven himself if Thompson got injured during Game 3, and so it makes sense why the coaches made the decision they did. They are clearly confident about the possibility of winning three out of the last four games.

Thompson will have two more days of rehab after this move, and the Warriors will be tough to beat at home if they get him and Durant back in the same game.

Obviously, they’ll both be shaking off a little bit of rust, but in the words of Draymond Green: “that’s a good problem to have. That’s a much better problem than trying to make up for what [Durant] do. So we’ll take that problem.”