The Warriors’ Klay Thompson experiment has worked
MIAMI — Klay Thompson could have pouted when the Warriors removed him from the starting lineup. He could’ve taken it on himself to jack more shots in an effort to prove himself worthy. He could’ve checked out mentally.
But Thompson, who carries his emotions as openly as anyone in the NBA, didn’t complain. He never looked at the move as a “demotion.” Instead of letting the team’s decision take him out of his game, he doubled down on what has made him a future Hall of Famer.
“I just try to keep the same approach,” Thompson said Tuesday after Golden
State’s 113-92 win in Miami. “Have fun, communicate, take great looks. Those three things.”
Steve Kerr inserted Thompson back into the starting lineup against the Heat for more spacing against a Miami team that likes to play a variety of zone defenses. Back in the familiar role, going through pregame introductions and playing next to Steph Curry from the tip-off, Thompson dropped a gamehigh 28 points and hit six of 14 shots from behind the arc.
“It’s a credit to him, just in general, being able to respond to whatever he’s been asked to do this year,” Curry said. “Whether it’s coming off the bench or starting. Most people think, maybe they think it’s easy to transition from one to the other. It’s not. You have to prepare your mind and your body to be ready for whatever’s thrown at you. So it’s a credit to him, his attitude and preparation.”
Coming off the bench or starting, Thompson has been a reliable tertiary scorer for Golden State.
He’s no longer prone to absolute bonanza scoring nights, but is still capable of giving the Warriors 30 on a given night. He still scares defenses into scrambling to him off the catch. He’s still a frequent option for Kerr in out-of-timeout set plays.
Kerr made the concerted decision to bring Thompson off the bench right before the AllStar break in order to give the five-time All-Star time to process and decompress the sudden change. Before that Feb. 15 game, he’d started every game since his rookie year — a span of 808 consecutive games. He reportedly didn’t take the news well and has had to grapple with his basketball mortality, but didn’t grumble publicly.
In his first game off the bench, Thompson poured in 35 points against Utah, which remains his season-high. If there were concerns about how he’d handle the role change, that performance was as encouraging a sign as possible.
More often, Thompson was the focal point of Golden State’s unit. He spaced the floor for Chris Paul and Trayce Jackson-Davis to run high pick-and-rolls. The Warriors ran actions for him. Meanwhile, rookie Brandin Podziemski helped connect the starting unit with his quick decision-making and team defense.
Thompson still played starter-level minutes and closed most tight games. Podziemski — along with Draymond Green playing center almost exclusively — set Golden State’s rotation into place. It was a win-win.
The return to the starting lineup might not be permanent. At the very least, the Warriors have the choice of bringing Thompson off the bench if a certain matchup dictates it. That’s a tool Golden State hasn’t had until this year.