Klay Thompson expects to be ready for Game 2 of the finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Shooting Guard injured himself in the game after a collision with J.R. Smith, but still played for over 40 minutes.
“I’m still in pain, but it’s not that tragic,” the Splash Brother said at a conference call. “Last night was worse, I see that as a good sign that it will heal even better before the game.”
In the middle of the first quarter of game 1, Thompson collided with Smith because he had just slipped. Thompson limped towards the bench and in the meantime even disappeared into the cabin, but returned with lots of tape at the beginning of the second quarter. Thompson was on the field for 45 minutes and scored 24 points (8/16 FG, 5/10 trio).
“If it had been Game 32 of the Regular Season and not Game 1 of the Finals, I wouldn’t have continued,” Thompson admitted. “I felt my ankle a little. I thought I was just bent, but nothing on my knee or leg. In the evening, things got worse,” Thompson continued, adding that he had had similar injuries more often.
Thompson has an iron man’s reputation in the league. Since 2011, the year he was drafted, the shooter has played in 537 of 558 possible games. But this season Thompson dropped out in nine games – eight of them because of a thumb fracture, once he got a break from coach Steve Kerr.