Digging Thompson out of his playoff rut
SALT LAKE CITY — Early Sunday morning, after the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals, Zaza Pachulia posted a selfie to Instagram with Klay Thompson. The caption read, “Historical night.”
It was Pachulia’s way of mocking the fact that he had scored one more point than his All-Star teammate, even if it was only seven compared to Thompson’s six. Because Golden State is up 3-0 on Utah, Thompson’s offensive struggles were little more than a lighthearted punchline.
Now, as the Warriors try to complete the series sweep Monday, they’re mapping ways to dig Thompson out of his rut. He went 1-for-9 from the field, 0-for-4 from threepoint range, in Game 3. Through seven playoff games, Thompson is averaging 15.4 points — 6.9 less than his regular-season average — on 38.2 percent shooting.
“He’s just got to stay with it,” said acting head coach Mike Brown. “We have some things in mind that may help him out (Monday) night, but he’s still a threat on the floor, and he still opens the game for everybody else.”
In Game 3, the Jazz excelled at switching onto Thompson along the perimeter. Their physicality seemed to throw him off-kilter. At one point, he airballed a jumper — a rarity for a player considered one of the best jump shooters in NBA history.
Still, Brown appreciated that Thompson didn’t let his bad shooting night affect his defense. He took turns on Utah’s Gordon Hayward and Joe Johnson, chasing them around screens and helping hold them to a combined 10for-30 shooting (3-for-11 beyond the arc). As for Pachulia? “He’ll milk this just like he did the All-Star crap,” Brown said with a chuckle, referencing Pachulia’s impressive showing in the fan vote for the 2017 All-Star Game, thanks to fans from his native Georgia. “That’s Zaza.” Ball protection: In Game 3, the Warriors matched a franchise playoff record for fewest turnovers in a game with seven. It was the third time this postseason, and the second in this series, that Golden State had seven turnovers.
In the second half, Golden State didn’t cough up the ball once, the first time the Warriors have gone a half without a turnover in the playoffs since the NBA started tracking quarter and half playoff statistics 20 years ago, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“I still can’t believe it,” Brown said. “They did a good job of keeping it simple. We didn’t try to make too many home run plays or anything like that. It was good, because we needed every ounce of keeping it in our possession.”