OAKLAND - As the media populated the Oracle Arena floor following Tuesday's practice, a crowd began to form around Warriors guard Klay Thompson's shooting workout.
While Thompson -- who injured his right hamstring in Game 2 of the NBA Finals -- practiced myriad of mid-range shots, intrigue continued to build on whether he'd play against the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
Thompson's injury is just the latest for the Warriors. Since the postseason began, Golden State endured injuries to two all-stars, a super sub and lost Kevon Looney for the remaidner of the playoffs. With the best-of-seven NBA Finals tied at one game apiece, the champs will again have to rely on depth as their increasingly crippled roster plays through the Finals.
"It's just everybody being ready," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said Tuesday afternoon. "The way that we play, everybody feels involved on both ends of the floor and has an opportunity to impact the game, not necessarily scoring every possession but just playing within the flow and sharing the ball, moving, playing unselfishly."
Throughout his career, Thompson has proven to be a dependable bet to be on the floor in the postseason. In 120 career playoff games, he has never missed a start. Last season, after spraining his ankle following a serious collision with Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith, he missed no time.
His latest injury, which occurred in the third quarter of the Warriors' Game 2 win, could be a more difficult recovery. On Tuesday, he maintained he intended to play Wednesday evening, but said he would leave the final decision to the Warriors' training staff.
Sports
Seven minutes before Thompson exited Sunday, the Warriors lost forward Kevon Looney for the season with a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture, while DeMarcus Cousins played his second came back from a torn quadriceps. Add Kevin Durant's injured calf and Andre Iguodala's injured leg and you can see a team low on championship breaks. Still, the team seemed confident Tuesday.
"Our team is very adaptable," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We have a lot of versatility. What it requires is bench players being ready to step up, like they always are, and guys just playing hard and playing together. I think you have to be fearless, too, which our team is. You can't worry about anything. You just go out there and play and compete and let it fly and whatever happens, happens."
Following Thompson's injury, the Warriors held on for a 109-104 win. Quinn Cook scored nine points in the second half on three 3-pointers as the bench scored 25 points on the night.
Sunday's approach has been a necessity over the last three months. In the second game of the postseason, Cousins tore his right quad chasing a loose ball. Two weeks later, Durant struggled to walk off the Oracle Arena floor after straining his right calf in the second round.
[RELATED: Warriors suddenly need Boogie as much as he needed them]
Despite all of those injuries, the Warriors enter Wednesday with a 13-5 postseason record. They can take a two-games-to-one lead over the Raptors if they follow the familiar mantra of "Strength in Numbers."
"Just staying ready," Warriors guard Shaun Livingston said. "There's going to be opportunity with guys going down. That's just the way it shakes out. And that's what happens in professional sports, period. So just guys being ready, playing with a lot of confidence, knowing that we're going to get that opportunity and coming in and make plays."
