Klay Thompson won’t let his left leg injury prevent him from playing in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
This news comes after he and the Golden State Warriors were thrown for a bit of scare in Game 1. Midway through the first quarter, J.R. Smith collided with Thompson’s left leg. Thompson immediately fell to the ground and was writhing in pain. He returned to the game shortly thereafter and was, apparently, healthy enough to log more than 45 minutes during Golden State’s overtime victory.
Still, the question of whether he’d be ready to rock for Game 2, on Sunday, came up after the final buzzer. And while Thompson copped to not being 100 percent—who is at this point of the season, really?—he was adamant that he won’t be missing any time. Per the Bay Area News Group’s Melissa Rohlin:
Thompson had x-rays after the game, which were negative. He was sore — but said there’s no doubt he will be on the court for Game 2 on Sunday.
“I’m just looking forward to getting 100 percent,” Thompson said. “But I’m not missing Sunday.’
This, obviously, comes as great news for the Warriors. They’re already laboring through Andre Iguodala’s absence. Playing without both him (assuming he misses Game 2) and Thompson would be hell on their defense. They’d have enough talent to win, make no mistake. That’s the luxury of having four top-20 players: If one of them goes down, you have three more—and in this case, two of them, in Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, are consensus top-five talents.
It will, however, be interesting to see how Klay responds to his soreness. Leg injuries linger. Iguodala is dealing with one himself right now. And if neither he nor Thompson is able to go or at full strength, it would open the door for the Cleveland Cavaliers to knot the series up at one game apiece.
