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Dad thinks Klay Thompson will practice, be ready for Game 1 of NBA Finals

By Kyle Franzoni

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Klay Thompson’s concussion was scary for the Golden State Warriors, but the guard’s father things his son will be ready for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

With a looming match-up against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on the horizon for the Golden State, the Warriors want to enter the NBA Finals at full strength. They may have gotten some good news in that regard on Friday.

According to Mark Medina of the Daily News, who spoke with Mychal Thompson, Klay Thompson’s father, he expects his son to return to practice on Monday and that he will be ready for Game 1 against Cleveland on Thursday in Golden State.

Thompson was shut-down from all basketball activity over the weekend after suffering a concussion during Golden State’s series clinching victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, May 27th. With 9.32 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Thompson took a knee to the head from Rockets defender Trevor Ariza and was taken out of the game with concussion symptoms. After initially passing concussion tests at the game, Thompson returned to the bench, but never re-entered the game. However, symptoms worsened that night, to the point where the guard required a ride home after the game, and he was shut down over the weekend in order to rest and recover.

That said, there is still protocol that the Warriors must follow before activating Thompson for the first game of the Finals. As per Marc Stein of ESPN, Thompson must undergo a full concussion examination upon completing his first practice with the team before officially being cleared to play.

Still, the fact that he is approaching a return to practice makes things a bit more favorable that Thompson will be ready to suit up on Thursday night. Thompson’s presence in the line-up makes it that much more difficult on the Cavaliers to guard NBA MVP Stephen Curry, as Thompson serves as the primary beneficiary of the added attention on Curry and he doesn’t miss a beat.

The fourth-year guard averaged a career-best 21.7 points per game in 2014-15, hitting on 43.9% of his three-point attempts and contributing 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. His averages for the postseason are a bit down, with Thompson averaging 19.7 points, 42.5% behind the arc, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest.

The NBA Finals gets underway in Golden State on Thursday night at 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time on ABC.

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