Klay Thompson will play in Game 2 despite high ankle sprain

A high ankle sprain is an injury that can be hard to shake, but Klay Thompson will try to play through one in Game 2.

The Golden State Warriors will have one of their key players, Klay Thompson, for Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals after all.

His participation was very much in doubt after he got the worst of a collision with J.R. Smith in Game 1. Thompson left that game to be examined, but he returned later and hit a pair of three-pointers in overtime as the Warriors survived an incredible performance by LeBron James to take a 1-0 series lead.

In the three days since, Thompson was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, and his availability for Game 2 was very much in doubt. However, ace NBA reporter Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports says Thompson will give it a go:

Charania had previously reported that Thompson was dealing with significant bruising around his left ankle, a common symptom of a high ankle sprain. It seems likely to hinder his movement somewhat, and while his catch and shoot game should be able to survive that, one wonders how Thompson’s defense will be affected.

The Warriors are already shorter than usual on the wing as Andre Iguodala will miss his sixth straight game on Sunday night, and Patrick McCaw is available but also banged up. If Thompson is anything less than his usual self or forced to leave Game 2 because he exacerbates his ankle woes, it’s going to put a lot more pressure on Shaun Livingston and Nick Young, both of whom played less than 20 minutes in Game 1.

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Thompson played 45 minutes in that contest, scoring 24 points that included those overtime triples. For a Warriors team that just barley eked out Game 1, it’s great to have him in the mix but worrisome that he might be hindered.