Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston played with a possibly misdiagnosed broken toe during last year’s playoffs with the Brooklyn Nets, Livingston told Nets beat reporters prior to the Nets-Warriors game Thursday night:
“I don’t want to say I was misdiagnosed, but they couldn’t really figure out the issue. They did all these MRIs and X-rays and it was still hurt,” said Livingston, who broke his toe in the 77th game of last season and subsequently played 326 playoff minutes.
Livingston’s broken toe healed after it was placed in a cast, but he still required surgery after signing with Golden State.
“They found out there was a lot of scar tissue because once I broke it, I continued to play on it in the playoffs,” Livingston said. “Basically, I just shot it up with cortisone and went out there and played on it.”
Via New York Daily News — Shaun Livingston faces Nets for first time since choosing Warriors in free agency
Livingston ended up playing another 12 minutes in that game after the attempt and 326 playoff minutes, getting sent to the bench for Games 6 and 7 in their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors before returning to the lineup in their second-round series against the Miami Heat. He looked significantly hampered in the playoffs, often in foul trouble guarding DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross.
The Nets never really stood a chance at re-signing Livingston; the Warriors signed Livingston to a three-year deal worth $16 million in the offseason, about $6 million more than the Nets could have offered him under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement. He then required toe surgery in the offseason, and entered Warriors training camp wearing a walking boot.
Through 8 games, Livingston has averaged 2.5 points, 2.0 assists, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 13.5 minutes per game, shooting 40 percent from the field.