When the Warriors provided their starting lineup for their regular season home finale on Tuesday, Klay Thompson was conspicuously absent.
Thompson was listed as out with lower back soreness; a designation that does not sound overly concerning, but is decidedly murky.
Anthony Lamb, who played just 12 minutes — the fewest of any Warriors player not involved in garbage time — started in his stead in the 136-125 win.
The absence of the five-time All-Star surprised Steve Kerr as much as anyone. Kerr said the injury came just before the game.
“Just right before our walkthrough,” Kerr said. “Totally unexpected. Just flared up.”
He didn’t have a detailed assessment, but went on to offer a bit more insight and optimism.
“It wasn’t anything that was bothering him in the game, but he showed up and it locked up,” Kerr said. “He tried to get some work in and made the right decision to not make it worse. We’ve got two days so hopefully he’ll be fine for Sacramento.”
Golden State (42-38, in the sixth seed) will finish the season on the road with two games. They’ll head to Sacramento on Friday night for a potential first-round preview against the Kings (48-31, third seed) before the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon in Portland against a Trail Blazers team (33-46, 13th seed) that has been resting most of its key players.