Thompson’s defense fuels Warriors’ dynasty
OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson plopped himself in a chair after practice Saturday, relaxed and uncommonly chatty. Thompson is not always the most eager interview subject, but he welcomed talking about his defense and its effect on the Warriors’ latest playoff run.
He has faced a parade of elite scorers, from Lou Williams in the first round to James Harden and Chris Paul in the Western Conference semifinals to Damian Lillard in the West finals. Next up: Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard in the NBA Finals.
Crazy-quick point guards, long-range shooters, dynamic small forwards. Thompson embraces this variety of defensive assignments, motivated by his frustration at not receiving suitable recognition.
“I’m not going to lie, a lot of these guys have made All-NBA over me,” he said. “I love to face them in the playoffs. I that challenge. ‘All right, they say you’re better than me? We’ll see, heads up.’ Honestly, it drives me.”
Thompson clearly was miffed last week, when Charlotte’s Kemba Walker landed third-team All-NBA honors over him. Walker is a standout scorer, but he doesn’t play defense anywhere near Thompson’s level.
So Thompson drew a slice of satisfaction from earning second-team, alldefensive honors for the first time in his career. And he showed his mettle on that end of the court, again, in helping Golden State reach the Finals for the fifth consecutive season.
Most notably, Lillard shot only 34 percent from the field when Thompson defended him in the West finals. Lillard averaged 22.3 points overall in the series, compared with 33 against Oklahoma City in the first round and 25.1 against Denver in the West semifinals.
Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer this season, shot 37 percent when Thompson guarded him during the Warriors-Rockets series, well below his regularseason average of 44.2 percent. That included a 3for-12 effort in Game 6, when the Warriors closed out the series.
Golden State’s coaching staff savors Thompson’s versatility on defense. He’s a rare blend of size and mobility, at 6-foot-7 with long arms and quick feet.
Also do not overlook his defensive thirst, a rare attribute for such an accomplished shooter.
“Klay has a great desire to stop people,” assistant coach Ron Adams said. “He’s a little bit of a throwback, because he gets irritated when someone scores on him. There’s no greater attitude you could ask for in a defensive player.”
Thompson’s ability to cover smaller, quicker guards allows the Warriors to protect point guard Stephen Curry on defense. Curry played better defensively against the Blazers than he did in the first two rounds, when he committed several foolish fouls, but he’s still the player opposing offenses inevitably target.
The Warriors need to keep Curry out of foul trouble given his immense value on offense. That’s where Thompson rides to the rescue.
His success covering all types of players, including point guards — unconventional matchups for a player of Thompson’s size — traces to the early years of his career.
“We started putting Klay on Chris Paul back when the Clippers had their halfdecent team,” center Andrew Bogut said. “Once we did that, we noticed Chris didn’t like that, and it really worked out well for us.
“Ever since then, we haven’t been afraid to put Klay on bigger forwards at times, or smaller guards. He’s one of the most valuable guys in the league, because he plays both ends of the floor.”
Or, as Thompson said in explaining his success against point guards: “I don’t think there are many 6-7 guys who can move their feet as quick as me. That’s a huge factor guarding guys smaller than you, and especially guys quicker than you.”
Thompson prides himself on defending players at all positions, 1 (point guards) through 5 (centers). He and teammate Draymond Green have the size, athleticism and intelligence to pull it off, which fuels the Warriors on defense.
Thompson’s teammates and coaches understand his importance. Curry called it a “travesty” that Thompson had not made an all-defensive team until this season, and coach Steve Kerr raved about his stamina in shadowing premier perimeter players on defense and perpetually moving without the ball on offense.
In these playoffs, Thompson leads the Warriors at 39.4 minutes per game.
“For a guy to chase the best guards in the world, and switch onto a center and hold his own down on the low post, it’s almost unheard of,” Kerr said. “It’s hard to quantify the value of what Klay does for us defensively.”
Thompson actually quantified it nicely the other day, in one word, while talking about his All-NBA omission: “Rings.” His defense helped the Warriors win three championships, and it will be a prominent factor as they pursue a fourth.