Is Andrew Wiggins playing tonight? Latest injury update for Lakers vs. Warriors Game 6

May 6, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) before playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) before playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Warriors need a win on the road in Game 6 to avoid elimination and force a Game 7 at home. They may have to do it without Andrew Wiggins.

Andrew Wiggins didn’t appear in a single regular season game for the Warriors after the All-Star Break, stepping away from the team to help care for his ailing father. But his return at the beginning of the postseason was a huge boon for their championship aspirations.

Despite struggling with his jumper, Wiggins averaged 18.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in the first round, spending a lot of time guarding the smaller De’Aaron Fox and helping disrupt Sacramento’s elite offense. Against the Lakers, his 3-pointer has finally started falling and he’s been fantastic as the primary defender on LeBron James, helping hold him to one of his least productive postseasons ever.

But late Thursday it was announced that Wiggins was questionable for Friday’s Game 6 with a left costal cartilage fracture (a rib injury).

Will Andrew Wiggins be available for the Warriors in Game 6 against the Lakers?

Wiggins is still listed as questionable on the NBA’s official injury report and, as Anthony Slater pointed out, the Warriors have a difficult playoff history with this particular injury.

If Wiggins can’t go or is limited in Game 6, it’s a huge blow for Golden State. They have struggled mightily to find a winning rotation in this series but Wiggins has been a key piece of every lineup that’s worked. Steve Kerr has already realized that double-big lineups with Kevon Looney and Draymond Green aren’t tenable in this series and, if Wiggins is out, that might mean having to insert Moses Moody or Jonathan Kuminga into the starting lineup.

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