The Warriors will be without a key player for their win-or-go-home Game 7 matchup against the Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center.
Golden State guard Gary Payton II will not play due to an illness, the team announced Sunday afternoon.
“He’s just sick as a dog,” Steve Kerr told reporters 90 minutes before tip-off. “Woke up ill and didn’t go to shootaround. Hasn’t eaten. No way he can play.”
Payton has started and come off the bench in the series against Houston, averaging 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16 minutes per contest.
Golden State has struggled on the glass against the Rockets in this series, and Payton certainly could have helped the Warriors close the offensive and defensive rebounding gap in Sunday’s big game.
The 32-year-old is an energizing two-way force on both ends of the floor, something Golden State, losers of consecutive games, certainly could use in a hostile environment on the road in Game 7.
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