Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins questionable for Game 6 against Lakers with rib injury

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is listed as questionable for Game 6 of the team’s Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday due to an injury to his ribs, according to CBS Sports. 

Wiggins suffered a left costal cartilage fracture in his ribs, according to the team. The Warriors currently trail the series, 3-2, after avoiding elimination with a 121-106 Game 5 win on Wednesday.

Wiggins, who put up his best performance of the postseason in Game 5 win with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists, appeared to sustain the injury late in the fourth quarter on a collision with Lakers forward LeBron James.

Wiggins has been an essential part of Golden State’s success on both ends of the floor dating back to last postseason. This year he’s taken the task of guarding De’Aaron Fox in the first round and now James in this series. Offensively, Wiggins has struggled from 3-point range, but he’s one of the few sources of athleticism and isolation scoring for the Warriors. Stephen Curry said after Game 5 that the team needed to do a better job creating opportunities for Wiggins.  

“It’s the best version of who he is and how he can impact games,” Curry said of Wiggins. “Him getting up 18 shots is huge. We need that every night. And it’s on us as a team to feature him, too, at certain points of the game, because he is such an athlete and he can create his own shot. Got to feed it to him and let him do what he does.”  

This postseason, Wiggins is averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 34.5 minutes per game. If he misses Game 6, or is hindered in any significant way, it would certainly impact Golden State’s chances of forcing a Game 7 back in San Francisco.

“I feel good. I feel like everyone at this point in the season’s all banged up and bruised,” Wiggins said after Game 5. “But I feel good. Not fresh, but good enough to compete and try to get another title.”  

The news of the Wiggins injury comes after Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said he expected Anthony Davis to play Friday night in Los Angeles, adding that the eight-time All-Star big man is “not showing any signs of anything” and is not in the NBA’s concussion protocol after being hit in the head late in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.