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Warriors' Speights won't play in Game 2, may return if conference finals run 6-7 games

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors will continue to go without the sweet-stroking services of power forward Marreese Speights.

Speights continues to be hampered by a right calf injury that he sustained in the conference semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies and will not appear in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters.

Speights has missed the Warriors' last four games with the calf injury, but it hasn't affected the Golden State juggernaut in the slightest - the Warriors have won those four games by an average of 13.5 points.

However, having Speights healthy would help cement the Warriors' frontcourt depth. Speights is a tremendous midrange shooter and serves as a spark off the bench for Golden State. Speights is also bigger and slightly less of a sieve defensively than David Lee, who was repeatedly exploited by the Rockets in Game 1.

Through seven playoff games, Speights has posted per-36 minutes averages of 19.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Speights's jumper hasn't been falling, though, as he's shooting just 34.5 percent from the field.

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