While the injuries to Andre Iguodala and Chris Paul are dominating storylines heading into game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, it is the return of another player that could give the Golden State Warriors a massive emotional boost.
Nearly two months after a horrific back injury, Patrick McCaw is set to be activated for game 6 as the Warriors take on the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors are down 3-2 in the series, and they’re fighting to keep their season alive in front of their home crowd. If they can secure a victory, they will force a game 7 in Houston that will attract all eyes of the sports world.
Chris Haynes of ESPN has a great story about how McCaw will return from his lumbosacral bone bruise for this crucial game 6.
The injury was suffered on March 31 when the Warriors were in Sacramento playing the Kings. McCaw elevated for a dunk and Vince Carter undercut him, sending McCaw to the ground.
McCaw fell on his back and instantly began squirming around in pain. Medical technicians eventually had to remove him from the court on a stretcher.
McCaw was listed as out as recently as Friday, but was upgraded to questionable on Saturday afternoon. It remains to be seen how many minutes McCaw would receive in his first game back, but he could certainly serve as an adept perimeter defender for the Warriors, especially if Iguodala sits out game 6.
The crowd at Oracle Arena will undoubtedly give McCaw a huge ovation for returning from what could have potentially been a life-altering injury.
Even if he doesn’t make a huge physical impact on game 6, his return could provide the Warriors a much-needed psychological uplift as they face elimination.
It’s extremely encouraging that McCaw returned from such a terrifying injury this quickly, and hopefully he can help the Warriors prolong their season.