With Game 1 of the NBA Finals four days away, you can expect Tony Parker to be suited up and ready to play.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Parker is “hopeful to play” in the series opener Thursday between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.
Despite a sprained ankle, San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker is hopeful to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Parker “should be ready” to play in Game 1, two sources with direct knowledge told Yahoo Sports.
Parker will rehab his sprained ankle over the next couple of days in preparation for Game 1 of the NBA Finals rematch with Miami. The ankle has bothered Parker since Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before it cost him the second half of Game 6 Saturday night.
Parker has averaged 17.2 points and 4.9 assists per game in 18 games this postseason, starting each game for the Spurs. He’s shot almost 49 percent from the floor and averaged 30.2 minutes per game.
Of course, given the Spurs’ history of remaining quiet about injuries, Parker is expected to be listed as a game-time decision leading up to Thursday night’s tip in San Antonio. Head coach Greg Popovich has already been tight-lipped about the entire situation.
“I have no idea,” Popovich said Saturday night after the Spurs win. “I don’t know what the deal is.”
“He came to me about eight minutes on the clock (before the second half) and said he couldn’t go. He couldn’t cut. He was limping on it. He couldn’t cut sideways or forward really.”
Backup point guard Cory Joseph could see more minutes still, as Popovich might try to limit Parker’s minutes on the court. Joseph is averaging 3.3 points in the playoffs thus far, and had two points and one assist filling in for Parker in the second half, including guiding the team to a 37-point third quarter en route to the Game 6 victory
