Game 4 shootaround update: Injured Lynx center Alanna Smith is basically irreplaceable, but she’s ready to play

If it were a regular season game, with not nearly as much on the line, Alanna Smith might have sat this one out. But it was Game 4 of the WNBA Finals — as she said, where every team wants to be — so Smith will be in the lineup tonight against New York at Target Center (7 p.m., ESPN).

“It’s a big game, a big moment,’’ Smith said after morning shootaround. The Liberty held a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series after Wednesday’s victory. “Right now I have the present to think about.’’

Smith injured her back picking up a foul — watch it again and you might have an issue about whether it was a good call — trying to guard Liberty center Jonquel Jones in the first half of Wednesday’s three-point loss.

She tried to return, but ultimately sat, more because of the back than the foul trouble that plagued her in the game. Since then she’s been getting regular treatment — alternating ice and heat — and was not listed on the team’s injury report.

Smith has battled through pain all season.

“That’s what I said after [Wednesday’s] game,’’ Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I really appreciate her trying to be on the court for us. Knowing how she is feeling. She has done it all year. I mean, how many times have you seen her, with ankle. She rolls an ankle, limps back down the court, keeps playing. The physical toughness is always there. But it’s the mental toughness that helps her push through. She wants to be there for the team. There’s a lot to be said for that.’’

Smith said warming up right is of prime importance, getting her lower back warm and working the muscles around the area, which will have to work extra hard.

When forced to sit, Smith will rely on the training staff to keep her from getting stiff.

Smith joked that the answer might be playing all 40 minutes.

Reeve said she’d be fine with that. “If ‘Lan’ is open to playing 40 minutes, I’m open to it. That means she has to not foul. That’s the only thing standing in our way.’’