Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson has been cleared to play in Game 1 against the Houston Rockets. Thompson will be in the starting lineup alongside Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green:
Klay Thompson has been cleared to play today. Here's the Warriors' starting lineup: Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Durant and Green. Kerr going small against the Rockets.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) April 28, 2019
Thompson suffered a right ankle injury in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers. He underwent an MRI, which came back clean, and then he tested out the ankle in warmups before Sunday's Game 1.
After warmups, Thompson announced he's feeling good and ready to go:
Asked Klay Thompson in the locker room how he feels. Klay: “I feel great!” Klay has his ankle taped heavily, but he didn’t walk around with any noticeable limp.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) April 28, 2019
Thompson averaged 17.3 points against the Clippers in the first round while shooting 46.5% from the field and 41.7% on 3-pointers. The Warriors will need that sharpshooting and his defensive prowess against a Rockets team out for revenge after last year's Western Conference Finals. Thompson will be especially important guarding James Harden.
With Thompson playing, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is wasting no time going to the Death Lineup to start this series. Kerr has Andrew Bogut and Kevon Looney as center options with DeMarcus Cousins out, but he's instead going small with Draymond Green at center and Andre Iguodala in the starting lineup. It certainly makes sense given the Rockets' style, and we'll likely see Kerr rely on this lineup more than he did in the last series.
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