SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker will play tonight in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
“I will be ready,” the All-Star point guard said after participating in the San Antonio Spurs’ Thursday morning shootaround.
Parker provided no other information about the status of his ailing right hamstring. An MRI on Wednesday revealed a Grade 1 strain and he was listed as day-to-day. With each inquiry about pain or limited mobility, Parker stuck with the mantra, “I’ll be ready to play.”
The Spurs lead the series, 2-1.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was first to break the good news, but also kept any information regarding Parker’s ability to play at or near full strength, or if he’ll take precaution in how he’ll utilize Parker to himself: “He’ll play,” Popovich said. “Tony’s ready to go.”
That’s huge news for the Spurs, who desperately need their leading scorer and assist man of the postseason to orchestrate the offense against the Heat’s defense.
“When he’s going, he’s pretty much our whole offense,” said reserve guard Gary Neal, who said Parker looked good during a light shootaround. “We pretty much feed off of him as far as him scoring or him making plays for other people to score. That’s a big brick off of our shoulders that Tony’s coming out and playing tonight.”
Parker is averaging 23.1 ppg and 7.1 apg while shooting 47 percent in the playoffs.
Source: NBA.com
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