Trail Blazers' Rodney Hood Active for Game 1 vs. Warriors After Knee Injury

The Portland Trail Blazers have declared Rodney Hood available for Tuesday night's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, according to The Athletic's Jason Quick.

Prior to his status being disclosed, Hood was seen going through warm-ups ahead of Game 1 at Oracle Arena:

Hood is two days removed from hyperextending his left knee during the third quarter of the Blazers' Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. He exited the game and did not return.  

After the game, the 26-year-old guard told reporters he was "in a lot of pain" (h/t ESPN.com's Royce Young). 

However, Sham Charania of The Athletic and Stadium relayed Monday that an MRI on Hood's left knee showed clean results outside of a bone bruise, and he was listed as day-to-day.

While describing Hood as available does not automatically mean he will see any minutes, especially in a Game 1, the Duke product proved his worth to the Blazers against the Nuggets, as Young acutely detailed:

"He has been a breakout player in this series for the Blazers, a player Nuggets coach Mike Malone called Portland's 'MVP' of the series prior to Game 7. In Game 6, Hood scored 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He shot 60.4 percent in the series, the best of any player. He shot 57.9 percent on 3-pointers.

"'To me, Rodney Hood is to me the MVP of the series,' Malone said Saturday. 'Damian Lillard is a superstar. You know what you're going to get with him. CJ McCollum is a potential All-Star, so you know what you're getting with him. But Rodney Hood in their three wins is at 20 points a game, 61 from the field, 54 from 3. So we have to do a better job of guarding him and game planning for him when he comes in.'"

Blazers beat reporter Casey Holdahl added ahead of Tuesday's tip that Hood said he still feels "discomfort in his left knee, and he's not expecting it to go away, but he feels like it's manageable enough to play."

As Malone keenly noted, Lillard and McCollum are expected to carry the bulk of the weight against the Warriors, but the Blazers need all of their reinforcements—fully healthy or otherwise—to dethrone the back-to-back champions and make the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance since 1991-92.

In two games against Golden State this season, Hood averaged 28 minutes and 11.5 points.

Portland and Golden State tip off at 9 p.m. ET.