Signs of Klay Thompson’s decline are subtle: slow closing here, leap off rhythm there, frustrated facial expressions at times.
The Golden State Warriors may not want to discuss it because they are happy just to have him back on the ground after missing over two and a half years to injuries, but they know Thompson is not the same player he was before his AFC Champions League rupture. The Achilles tendon is torn. Anyone who watched the first two games of the NBA Finals can watch an all-five star try to overcome his sudden physical limitations.
Unable to jump to jump as before, Thompson burst into a shooting motion. In defense, he always took a slow stride, even when he met top complimenting men instead of high-scoring wingers.
Such flaws, once easy to overlook, are now stark – not only because a formidable opponent like the Celtics tend to expose player flaws, but because Warriors need the old version of Thompson more than ever. Jordan Paul has seemed overwhelmed by the physicality of Boston, and Andrew Wiggins has a huge defensive responsibility to be a reliable goal-scoring option.
All of this put an even greater strain on Stephen Curry, who is responding as expected. In the third quarter of Game 2, Sunday night, after Thompson and Paul went together 2 for 13 from the field (1 for 6 from a 3-point range) in the first half, Curry scored 14 of his game-high 29 points to push the Warriors’ two-point lead to a cushion of 23 a point.
During his post-game press conference, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr went so far as to describe Curry’s timely outburst as “breathtaking” – a trait Curry may deserve more than any other player in the NBA. But Carrie is still human. Without the proper support from Thompson, he may struggle to lift the Warriors beyond the Celtics.
What makes Thompson and Curry such a special backcourt duo is that they both have complementary skill sets. When Thompson scrapes screens, knocks down jumpers, and posts flashy totals with minimal dodges, it becomes nearly impossible to stop Curry.
But with Thompson working, Kerr had to adjust his system so Curry could make the offense. The team built around the movement of the ball gave way to a more weighty style of isolation. In his first two Finals games, Curry had 12 picks.
This is far from the best, which raises an important question: What could the Warriors do to return Thompson to his effective ways? In his first two finals, he averaged just 13 points for 32% shots (27.7% from a 3-point range). Combine that with a shaky Thompson defense, and perhaps it’s no surprise that the Celtics edge the Warriors by nine points with him on the ground.
Even as he shot better in the previous three series, he often failed to help Golden State win. The Warriors scored 13.6 points per 100 possessions with Thompson far off the ground compared to him during the playoffs—the team’s worst among regular rotation players.
This statistic can be attributed to a large number of factors, including the fact that Poole – Thompson’s primary backup – was a big asset until he faced Boston’s size and tenacity. The Warriors’ attack was more effective with Paul being put to the ground instead of Thompson.
Few can deny that Thompson hasn’t found much consistency, on either end of the floor, since his return in mid-January. And his issues have never been more clear-cut than they are now.
Many of Thompson’s missed shots against Boston look open. In defense, the Warriors put him on Al Horford in place of the Celtics’ perimeter threats. This forced Carey to defend the likes of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown at times.
As Curry showed on Sunday, he can handle it all well enough to win the Warriors convincingly. But it’s fair to ask: What if he endured a night or two? Will it be the fate of the Golden State?
Striker Draymond Green said: “When you play against a team like Boston, you have to be attacked from other places and not just Steve.”
In Game 1, Curry pushed the Warriors into a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter, only to lose Golden State by 12 after holding four for fourth. Such an over-reliance on Carrie should worry Kerr.
Although Curry has long been the driving force behind Kerr’s offensive, the Warriors needed to improve their mantra of “Strength in Numbers” to win three NBA titles in four years. In the 2015 finals, Curry had 16.3 points per game from Andre Iguodala and 15.8 points per game from Thompson. In 2017, Kevin Durant (35.2 points) and Thompson (16.4) were more than deserved complements. In 2018, Durant averaged 28.8 points and Thompson 16 points.
“I think it’s different just because of the way the team is built,” Curry said. “There is always a need for me to be aggressive, to try to play, to try to score. … I think you compare it to years past, to the depth we had, with the heavy burden of scoring for me, KD and Klay obviously look a little different, and the game flows differently. Little “.
Poole’s appearance and Wiggins’ addition should have ensured that Thompson wouldn’t be too productive for the Warriors to lift another Larry O’Brien trophy. But the Celtics have presented many challenges to Golden State, and Paul and Wiggins are hardly immune.
Out of the 14 points he scored in Sunday’s trash time, Paul has only 12 points through those first two games on a 3-for-12 joint pay-off (2 for 7 out of a 3-point range). Considering he has to defend Tatum most of the time, the Warriors probably couldn’t ask Wiggins to be a reliable secondary scorer. He was limited to 11 points in the second game.
To get Thompson to attack, Kerr might want to call in more plays for him. Thompson was the Warriors’ most efficient scorer during the regular season. By showing him the occasional high screen, Golden State can help him find the much-needed stream.
If nothing works out and Thompson continues to put up some tough performances, the Warriors could still win their first title since 2018. That’s more testimony to Curry’s greatness than anything else.
But for the series’ warriors to triumph, Thompson must at least pare down subtle reminders of his decline—a very difficult task.
What makes the Warriors optimistic is that Thompson has done more difficult things. Compared to a comeback from successive career-threatening injuries that kept him out for nearly 1,000 days, some of the better performances in the Finals look easy.
“We will need contributions from a lot of people,” Kerr said. “I think we’re perfectly capable of winning matches where Steve doesn’t have a big night.”
Conor Letourneau is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: Tweet embed