San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker plans to play Thursday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Despite his availability initially being questioned, Parker said he'll be set to face the Miami Heat, ESPN reports.
"I'll be ready to go," Parker told reporters during practice on Thursday.
Parker wouldn't elaborate further on his injury. The guard sustained a hamstring injury in the second half of Game 3. An MRI taken on Wednesday revealed a Grade 1 strain. Although it's the mildest kind of strain, Parker's status had been uncertain until Thursday morning.
The question now is how effective Parker will be Thursday night. While it's a mild strain, there's no telling how his hamstring will respond during the game and whether he'll show signs of soreness.
San Antonio fared fine without Parker in Game 3 and went on to rout the Miami Heat, 113-77. But any prolonged absence from the All-Star veteran will put their postseason in jeopardy. The Spurs are already expecting a reinvigorated Heat team to take the floor Thursday night.
"They're going to play a lot better," Parker said. "They're going to come out very aggressive, very physical. It's a big game tonight. We're going to have to be ready to match that."
Although Parker is averaging only 13.3 points and 6.3 assists in the Finals, his leadership on the floor is invaluable. He's also proven to play big in clutch moments, as he did in Game 1 with a last-second jump shot to seal the game.
Fortunately, even if Parker isn't 100 percent, his supporting cast has been more than capable of stepping up. Spurs guard Danny Green has played huge during the Finals with 56 points through the first three games. Green's shown a deadly touch from the three-point line, shooting an incredible 69.5 percent in the Finals. Backup guard Gary Neal also stepped up in Parker's absence during Game 3, scoring 24 points - including six three-pointers.
Still, the Spurs are eager for a healthy Parker to return.
"He's basically at times, especially when he's going, he's pretty much our whole offense," Neal told reporters. "We feed off him as far as him scoring or making plays for other people to score."
