3:03 pm | June 5, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
Golden State Warriors officials prefer that guard Klay Thompson sit out Wednesday’s Game 3 to protect his sore hamstring for the rest of the NBA Finals, but Thompson has continued to lobby them to play, league sources told ESPN.
A final decision on Thompson’s status will be made closer to tip-off.
Thompson injured his hamstring in the second half of the Warriors’ win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. He was unable to return to the game.
An MRI revealed a mild strain, and Thompson was officially listed as “questionable” for Game 3.
Thompson said Tuesday that it’s “a game-time decision, but personally it’s hard to see me not playing,” then added “if there’s any pain, it will be a no-go, because of the position we are in. This could be a long series.”
Thompson spent some time after Tuesday’s practice speaking to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, general manager Bob Myers and director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celbrini on the bench, before getting a few shots and free throws up.
“He thinks he’ll be ready to go,” Kerr said Tuesday. “But as I said the other night, Klay is always going to say he’s ready to go. What we’ll have to determine is is that a risk? If he plays, are we risking anything?
“If the training staff feels good about his ability to go out there and play without making things worse, then he’ll play. But if there’s a risk, we would rather give him the next couple of days to continue to heal and hopefully have him out there for Game 4.”
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