Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is still listed as questionable for Game 6 of the team's Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday due to a left costal cartilage fracture -- located in the ribs. However, Golden State is reportedly "hopeful" that he will be able to suit up for the win or go home facing the Warriors as they trail the Lakers 3-2 in the series. Wiggins will go through his pregame routine to see how he feels, and a final determination will be made from there, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews.
Wiggins, who put up his best performance of the postseason in their 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.
Andrew Wiggins played nearly three more minutes after sustaining a rib injury that has him questionable for Game 6 against the Lakers pic.twitter.com/eJTBiNotbf
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) May 12, 2023
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."
