THOMPSON ALLOWS HEALTHY OUTLOOK
Warrior avoids injury, provides points for short-handed Golden State
OAKLAND >> The personnel around him keeps changing as his teammates take turns visiting the trainer’s room. Everything surrounding Klay Thompson, though, has stayed the same.
The Warriors have become plagued with overlapping injuries to their star players, but Thompson has yet to miss a game. The Warriors have had NBA first-world problems involving complacency, but Thompson has stayed consistent. The Warriors have attracted league-wide attention for their rich talent and personality, but Thompson would rather avoid the hype.
But as the Warriors slogged through a 97-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at Oracle Arena for a seasonhigh 10th consecutive win, not even Thompson could escape the team’s sluggishness. Thompson supplied a team-leading 29 points while shooting 10-of-16 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line while adding five assists in 37 minutes. But after posting 27 firsthalf points, he only had two points and missed all four of his shots in the second half.
“That’s fine; we won,” Thompson said. “I’ll take that result every time.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr
pinned that uneven play as more as a symptom of the team’s overall inconsistency.
“We weren’t executing. We’re at our best when Klay is coming off screens and setting screens and popping free,” Kerr said. “But all the standing around led to a lot of isolation stuff. When we don’t execute, Klay generally doesn’t get great shots unless they’re in transition.”
Easier said than done considering absences to Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle), Draymond Green (sore right shoulder), Zaza Pachulia (sore left shoulder), Andre Iguodala (flu) and Shaun Livingston (sore right knee). Meanwhile, Kevin Durant added 24 points albeit on 8-of20 shooting, while Omri Casspi adding 12 points on a 5-of-7 clip.
It initially appeared Thompson could solve those issues.
He made his first nine shots before falling short on a 3-point attempt midway through the second quarter. In the first half alone, Thompson accounted for 13 of the Warriors 21 field goals when accounting for field goals (10) and assists (three). And then the second half started, which changed everything.
“They made adjustments and they did a good job of keeping a body on him,” Durant said. “They were grabbing and holding him and being physical.”
That prompted Thompson to pick up a technical foul with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter, in what marked only his seventh through seven NBA seasons.
“It’s nothing I would want to repeat,” Thompson said. “I have to keep my cool, learn from it and not do it next game.”
It appears unclear if by then the Warriors will have more healthy players.
Kerr found Curry “moving pretty well” as he completed a series of jump shots and 3-pointers both with and without a resistance band after morning shootaround on Wednesday. Yet, Kerr said there is “no way” Curry could practice this week before the Warriors plan to reevaluate him next week on a sprained right ankle that has already sidelined him for the past five games. The Warriors have a practice scheduled on Thursday before playing a home backto-back against the Los Angeles
Lakers (Friday) and Denver Nuggets (Saturday). The Warriors will not practice on Sunday.
“(Today) literally was the first day he was moving side-to-side,” Kerr said. “He wouldn’t be involved in any scrimmaging.”
Therefore, it appears likely Curry will miss at least the next three games, including a nationally televised game on Christmas Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I haven’t talked to Steph about when he’s going to play,” Kerr said. “We’ll keep going day-by-day. When he gets close, we’ll have that conversation.”
Instead, Kerr focused more on Curry’s on-court work on Wednesday, which he called “a good sign.” Curry worked with Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser and consultant Steve Nash following Wednesday’s shootaround, doing ball handling and shooting drills, both with and without a resistance band. Curry also completed sprints from half court to the baseline.
As for Green and Pachulia, they could scrimmage on Thursday. While Pachulia has completed non-contact work in recent days, Green stayed sidelined until completing shooting drills on Wednesday.