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 in Game 3 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 - most recently - Kevon Looney for the season. With the NBA Finals tied at one game apiece and Game 3 approaching, 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's never missed a start. Last season, after getting suffering a sprained ankle following a serious collision with Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith, he missed no time. His latest injury, which occurred in the third quarter of Game 2, could be a more difficult recovery. On Tuesday, he maintained he intended to play Wednesday evening but would leave the final decision to the Warriors' training staff.
Seven minutes before Thompson exited the game Sunday evening, the Warriors lost forward Kevon Looney for the season with a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture, just as DeMarcus Cousins 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."
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Following Thompson's injury Sunday evening, the Warriors held on for a 109-104 win. Quinn Cook scored nine points in the second half, including 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 exited struggled to walk off the Oracle Arena floor after straining his right calf. All the while, the Warriors enter Wednesday's game with a 13-5 postseason record and a chance to take a 2-1 lead over the Raptors if they follow a familiar mantra.
"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.
