Thompson thumbs nose at injury .
Guard doesn’t miss a beat in his return from a fractured right thumb
OKLAHOMA CITY >> About 41/2 minutes into his return game at Sacramento on Saturday night, Warriors guard Klay Thompson made a pullup jumper, a right-handed layup on a fast break, threw a lob to center JaVale McGee and sank another jumper.
Those moments captured the terrific plays that Thompson routinely makes, but the circumstances were hardly ordinary. This was Thompson’s first game after missing the previous eight because of a fractured right thumb. He also wore a bandage for protection, and yet, he made shots as if the injury never happened.
“It looked like he hasn’t missed a beat,” said Mychal Thompson, Klay’s father and former member of the Showtime Lakers. “It’s very impressive to come back like that with a tape wrapped around your thumb. It’s like shooting with a batting glove, almost.”
Even with the added accessory, Klay Thompson has shed initial concerns on whether his bandaged right thumb would affect his shooting accuracy. The Warriors (56-21) enter
today’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-33) with Thompson shooting efficiently in the two games since his return. On Saturday in Sacramento, he scored 25 points on 10-of19 shooting (3 of 7 from 3-point range) and on Sunday against Phoenix had 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting (2 of 5 on 3-pointers).
Thompson had joked beforehand his thumb injury is “definitely going to be my excuse” if his shot did not fall. He remained serious, though,
when he predicted the ailment “will not hold me back going forward.”
“The key was staying in shape while I was out for eight games,” Thompson said. “It’s so hard because it’s so fun to do it with the basketball. But when you’re working out without one, it’s not that fun. I had an end goal in sight and that was to come out and not miss a beat.”
Thompson has offered promising signs of achieving that goal.
He made his first three shots against Sacramento. Though he missed his first three 3-point attempts, Thompson went 3 of 4 the rest of the night. Thompson opened against Phoenix missing three of his first four attempts. He then went 9 of 15. Through it all, Thompson made a blend of 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers and layups.
“It’s so great to have him back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Thompson. “It’s not just his ability to make shots. But it’s his movement, pace and the thrust he has to make when we’re pushing the ball and he’s on the perimeter. That’s a scary sight for a defensive team and for defensive players.”
It also was a scary sight for Thompson when he fractured his right thumb on March 11 in Minnesota.
After trying to swipe the ball from Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague late in the first half, Thompson recalled, “I couldn’t feel my thumb.” He still stayed in the game, though, and finished 8 of 22 from the field. Afterward, the Warriors diagnosed Thompson with a fracture instead of a sprain.
After playing 530 of a possible 543 regular-season games in the middle of his seventh NBA season, Thompson stayed on the sideline for an extended period for the first time in his career. Mychal Thompson described his son as “very antsy” as he passed the time with his dog, Rocco, and reading books to supplement his love for newspapers.
Within a week, though, Thompson began working out in the weight room. He then practiced by only handling and shooting the ball with his left hand, mostly on layups. Warriors forward Kevin Durant noted Thompson often took midrange jumpers, while Warriors assistant coach Willie Green observed Thompson occasionally venturing to 3-point range. Last week, Thompson began shooting with his right hand, while wearing a bandage on his right thumb.
“You may have to make some minor adjustments if you have something protecting it or a wrap on it,” Green said. “You try to shoot the ball as close as
possible the way you did before you were injured. But I think Klay will be fine. Klay is going to shoot the ball pretty well with a broken thumb, and probably better than a lot of guys would with healthy thumbs.”
Green, who played in the NBA from 2003-15, missed 29 games of his rookie season after having surgery on his broken right thumb. He also wore a cast afterward. Former NBA player and Turner Sports NBA analyst Dennis Scott (19902000) needed to have his right thumb taped for about a month during the 1997-98 season with the Dallas Mavericks. Then, Smith experienced defenders intentionally whacking his thumb to make the injury worse.
“That’s what Klay has to figure out when guys come at him and smack his hand. How much pain does he get from that and does that get into his head?” Scott said. “If he does, he will struggle shooting the basketball. If his threshold for pain is strong, he will fight through it.”
Mychal Thompson echoed that “Klay got to be wary about that,” remembering how the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” liked to use similar tactics on their opponents.
Yet, Durant also echoed the thoughts of how past players coped with thumb injuries on their shooting hand.
“If you start thinking about it too much, your focus is more on your finger than the game or your shot. I think Klay’s focus is where it should be,” Durant said. “He’s smart enough to know what he should be focusing on out there. If his thumb wasn’t healed or didn’t feel better, I’m sure he wouldn’t play.”
Durant knows his teammate well.
Thompson has not shied away from attacking the basket. Other opponents might play Thompson more physically soon. Yet, Thompson said he has not made any major adjustments to his shooting stroke. He also said his right thumb “feels good.”
“I wouldn’t be out there if it was painful, to be honest,” Thompson said. “We got the No. 2 seed and got home court at least for the first two rounds (of the playoffs). I would not risk something detrimental if it was still hurting.”
With his right thumb no longer hurting, Thompson has returned at just the right time. He appears fully comfortable fulfilling his usual job description as one of the Warriors’ top shooters.
And with the Warriors’ five remaining regular-season games yielding no implications on playoff seedings, Thompson has a sense of purpose before the playoffs begin.
“I expect to play. I missed enough games this year,” Thompson said. “I just want to keep a good rhythm. I do that by playing every night.”
• The Warriors listed veteran forward Andre Iguodala (left knee soreness) and Kevon Looney (flu-like symptoms) as doubtful for today’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr had anticipated Iguodala might sit out after missing the previous two games because of the same injury. Looney’s ailments just emerged. He had started at center in Sunday’s win over Phoenix and posted 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 24 minutes. The Warriors also ruled out reserve forward Omri Casspi, who has sat the past eight games because of a sprained right ankle.
Durant (right rib soreness) and Thompson were listed as probable, though their presence on the injured list has more to do with the Warriors wanting to be transparent with the league.