In a win-or-go-home play-in tournament game on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors will be without a key contributor off the bench.
On Monday, Steve Kerr announced Gary Payton II will miss Tuesday’s game against the Kings. Along with missing Tuesday’s elimination game in Sacramento, Kerr ruled out Payton II for Golden State’s second play-in game on Friday if the Warriors were to win and advance.
Via @kendra__andrews on Twitter:
Gary Payton II will not play in the Warriors play-in game tomorrow, Kerr says. If Golden State advances to the second play-in game, he will miss that game as well.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) April 15, 2024
Payton II was sidelined for the Warriors’ final three games of the regular season with a calf injury. Payton II has played 44 games this season, averaging 5.5 points on 56.3% shooting from the field with 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.5 minutes off the bench.
With Payton II out, the Warriors will likely use Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody alongside Chris Paul in their second-unit backcourt.
The Warriors will meet the Kings at 7 p.m. PT in the first round of the play-in tournament on Tuesday evening. While the loser’s season will be over, the winner will advance to play the loser of the No. 7 seed New Orleans Pelicans and No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
