After a hamstring scare in Game 3, San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parkers says he plans to play in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Thursday night against the Miami Heat.
According to ESPN, Parker didn't address the injury at a team practice Thursday other than answering "I'll be ready to go" to questions regarding his health. Now all that remains is whether he'll show signs of being sore or ailing against the Heat.
"They're going to play a lot better," Parker said at the Spurs' morning shootaround. "They're going to come out very aggressive, very physical. It's a big game tonight. We're going to have to be ready to match that."
Parkers numbers have taken a dive since scoring 21 points in Game 1, but he's still managed to average 13.3 points and 6.3 assists. His supporting cast has helped tremendously on offense, but it's the Spurs defense that has been particularly important.
The Spurs' defense has held Miami's LeBron James to 16.7 points, about 10 points below his regular-season average, while shooting 38.9 percent during the finals. Something new Spurs member Tracey McGrady is excited about.
"We're doing a hell of job,'' McGrady said after remembering he indeed now is a member of the Spurs. "We've got a guy (Kawhi Leonard) on him and when he drives, we got our big guys coming and just compacting the lane, keeping him off the free-throw line. When you're not getting to the free-throw line and hitting free throws and you're not getting layups, then the only thing left is for you to take jumpers. Then you're not in a rhythm.''
McGrady further elaborated on how important it is that they continue to mess with James' rhythm.
"It's not like he's a shooter like (Heat swingman) Mike Miller, who can just come off the bench and just fire up threes,'' McGrady said about James. "He's just not that type of player. He has to get in rhythm. ... Once you start feeling confident, then you start shooting the ball.''
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