With the chance to sweep the Dallas Mavericks and officially make their return to the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors will be without a key veteran off the bench for Game 4 on Tuesday.
After making an early exit from Game 3 with an apparent injury in the second quarter, Otto Porter Jr. has officially been ruled out for Game 4 against the Mavs due to right foot soreness.
For Game 4, the Warriors will now be without Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala and Gary Payton II off the bench.
Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:
Otto Porter Jr. is out for Game 4. Steve Kerr: “He’s still sore. Gotta make the wise decision here. This gives him a couple of days to prepare for a possible Game 5.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 24, 2022
Despite suffering a pair of foot injuries during the playoffs, Porter Jr. has played a critical role for the Warriors off the bench. Along with being on the floor for over 20 minutes in all but three games for the Warriors during the postseason, Porter Jr. has recorded double-figures in scoring in four of his last six games.
During the playoffs, the Georgetown product is averaging 5.5 points on 46.7% shooting from the floor with 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 20.7 minutes per contest.
Without Porter Jr., Steve Kerr could go in a few different ways to fill Porter Jr.’s minutes. The Warriors could opt to use rookie Jonathan Kuminga, or veterans Juan Toscano-Anderson and Nemanja Bjelica.
Toscano-Anderson played five minutes in Game 3 on Sunday. Both Kuminga and Bjelica haven’t played since Game 1 against the Mavericks.
Game 4 is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. PT in Dallas on Tuesday.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!