NBA Finals 2014: Tony Parker ‘hopeful’ to play in Game 1
By Chris Walder
The health status of All-Star point guard Tony Parker will go a long way to determining if the San Antonio Spurs can win their fifth NBA Championship (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) in franchise history.
A sprained ankle has been bothering Parker since Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, but as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports, he remains “hopeful” of his chances to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
"Parker will work to rehabilitate the sprain over the next several days of preparation for the Finals rematch with the Miami Heat.Parker had been bothered by the ankle since Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and tried to play on it in Game 6 before missing the second half of the clinching victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder."
Game 1 of the series won’t take place until this Thursday, June 5 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Parker should have plenty of time to recover and mend his tender ankle, but there’s no way of knowing for sure if he’ll be ready to go as of yet.
He’s averaging 17.2 points on 48.7 shooting from the field, as well as 4.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 18 games this postseason.
As Wojnarowski makes note of, the Spurs managed to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 with Parker missing the second half. Manu Ginobili and Cory Joseph split time running the point.
With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Heat awaiting on Thursday night, the Spurs can’t afford to be heading into the opening game without a healthy Parker ready to start.