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Denver Nuggets guard Austin Rivers limped to the locker room in Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors after appearing to suffer a hamstring injury. He is officially questionable to return.
Austin Rivers tells Michael Malone to call a timeout after losing his step while defending Curry. Rivers heads straight to the locker room. Pregame, I saw Rivers massaging out his right hamstring and limping a bit. Appears to have re-aggravated it.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) April 28, 2022
While Rivers isn’t considered a star, he’s a contributing player on a team desperate for any help it can get. The guard can shoot from the perimeter and has been a solid defender on the ball so far this series. The Warriors are a guard-heavy team, meaning Rivers going down could be problematic on the defensive end of the floor in certain moments.
With Rivers questionable to return, look for Will Barton and Bones Hyland to take on more minutes for the Nuggets. Both players can shoot the ball well and Hyland has upside as a defender on the perimeter. In this elimination game, it’ll be important for both players to contribute if Denver wishes to extend the series.