The Golden State Warriors finished off the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night behind Kevin Durant’s monster 50-point performance. But they did not escape L.A. to advance to Round 2 of the 2019 NBA Playoffs without a few complications.
Klay Thompson suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter of last night’s Game 6. He spent some time in the locker room, but returned in the fourth quarter and finished the game.
In his postgame presser, Thompson was confident he’d be ready to play in Sunday’s Game 1 of the hotly-anticipated second-round matchup with the Houston Rockets.
It’s sore. That’s the way it’ll be for the next few hours. But I anticipate going fully on Sunday.
But maybe that was the adrenaline talking.
According to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, sources believe Thompson’s Game 1 availability is not a given and largely depends “[h]ow his ankle responds to treatment over the next 24 hours.”
Thompson is tough and willing to play through injuries — remember the playoff concussion a few years back? But with very short turnaround between games and travel — Game 5 against the Clippers at Oracle Arena (Wednesday, April 24), Game 6 at Staples Center in L.A. (Friday, April 26) and now Game 1 versus the Rockets back at Oracle (Sunday, April 28) — Klay Thompson’s self-assessment may be ambitious.
Cue the “told ya so” crowd: Had the Warriors won Game 5 at home on Wednesday, they would have been resting and rehabbing in their own beds Friday night rather than competing in L.A. But they competed on the road, missed an opportunity to rest and, worst of all, picked up injuries.
Stephen Curry also tweaked an ankle in Game 6, but there have been no reports of major concern for him.
The Warriors face the Rockets on Sunday, April 28, at 3:30 p.m. PT (ABC).
