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11/22/2024 06:46:45 am

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NBA Playoffs 2015: Golden State’s Marreese Speights out for West Finals Game 1 Against Houston

The Golden State Warriors are going to continue to miss the services of their burly backup big man Marreese Speights for Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals series with the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, as per Bleacher Report's Scott Polacek.

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The former University of Florida standout is still sidelined by the moderate right calf strain he suffered during the team's 89-99 Game 3 loss in their second round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, according to Fox Sports. Speights was out of the line up since Game 4 of that series, and there is still no word as to the exact schedule of his return.

This means that the Warriors will have to continue to rely more on veteran power forward David Lee to spell Warriors' frontcourt starters Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green, as reported by Sean Highkin of Pro Basketball Talk.

The 6-foot-10, 255-pound stretch forward is one of the cornerstones of the Warriors' inside game, averaging 10.4 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 15.9 mpg as the main backup center for Bogut.

Speights provides instant offense off the bench for the Warriors. He opens up the floor on pick-and-rolls because of his remarkable field goal efficiency and good shooting range, unusual for a brawny player like him.

Earlier this year, Speights scored 13 points on 55 percent field goal shooting in just 15 minutes of play against the Los Angeles Clippers. During the same stretch, against the Washington Wizards, he had 16 points in 14 minutes.

The Warriors would still be looking sharp, though, as their deep bench is expected to step up with the 8-year NBA veteran's absence. Golden State won their last three playoff games against Memphis even while Speights was unavailable.

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