Warriors’ Steph Curry, Klay Thompson to play in Game 1 vs Rockets
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OAKLAND — Despite nursing respective sprained right ankles, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will play when the Warriors host the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors determined Curry’s availability on Sunday morning, and then cleared Thompson following a pre-game warmup.
“I feel great!” Thompson said in the locker room with an excited tone after his warmup. He had his right ankle heavily taped, but he did not walk with a noticeable limp.
Kerr said that Thompson received an MRI on Saturday night, and the results came out clean. But Kerr said that Dr. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, wanted to monitor Thompson with a critical eye. Both Celebrini and Warriors general manager Bob Myers watched Thompson’s pre-game warmup.
“If this thing is going to get worse,” Kerr said of Thompson’s injury, “we should not play him today.”
Curry and Thompson both rolled their ankles in Game 6 of the Warriors first-round series against the Clippers on Friday, but neither ailment prevented them from playing. After Curry rolled his ankle on a defensive rotation in the first quarter, Thompson rolled his right ankle on a drive to the basket in the third. Both Curry and Thompson walked with a noticeable limp before telling reporters they felt fine.
Still, the Warriors are monitoring Curry and Thompson closely for obvious reasons. Curry and Thompson represent a significant part of the Warriors’ offense.
Curry has had extensive ankle injuries earlier in his career, and also rolled his ankle in the final week of the season in New Orleans. Thompson has remained durable and played through the NBA Finals after suffering a lower left leg contusion in Game 1 against Cleveland stemmed from J.R. Smith crashing into him.
“You guys know Klay. He’s going to want to lobby and do everything he can to play,” Kerr said before the Warriors cleared Thompson to play. The guy’s pain tolerance is incredible and his toughness and willingness to play through injury. We know what Klay is all about. But we have to be wise and look at the big picture.”
Even though Curry and Thompson are available to play, their ailment could prompt Kevin Durant to take on a larger workload. After recording more turnovers (nine) than shots (eight) in the Warriors’ Game 2 loss to the Clippers, Durant has averaged 41.5 points on 57.29 percent shooting in the past four playoff games.
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