Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trailblazers: Who Has The Edge?
By Mike Dill
Mar 30, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews (2) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Shooting Guards
Warriors: Klay Thompson, Kent Bazemore
Trailblazers: Wesley Matthews, C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe
Klay Thompson and Wesley Matthews are actually similar players when it comes to play-style. Both Thompson and Matthews rely heavily on their three-point shooting in their offensive game.
Thompson shoots slightly over 40 percent from three and Matthews shoots slightly under 40 percent. Both players shoot a similar number of threes per game, too.
Matthews doesn’t seem to have anything else in his offensive arsenal – over 50 percent of his shots are taken behind the three-point line. Thompson gets more looks on offense and tends to venture inside the paint, but he hasn’t had the best results so far in his career. Fans have started to sarcastically dub Klay’s layup attempts “klay-ups.”
He has shown flashes of offensive ability, but he needs to improve his shot selection and his finishing ability.
On the defensive end, Thompson has made a bit of a name for himself. Matthews is known for playing inspired defense, but he is limited by his physical abilities. Throughout last season, Klay was given the task of guarding the opposing team’s best guard. He played excellent defense all season, troubling some of the best scorers in the league. James Harden, for example, was limited to 21 points per game on 31 percent shooting last season while Thompson was guarding him. He still scored his points, but Thompson’s ability to bring his percentage down was amazing.
After Thompson and Matthews come two inexperienced shooting guards. Kent Bazemore is going into his second season and, other than impressive bench celebrations, he hasn’t seen much of the floor. McCollum is an undersized rookie with great scoring instincts.
Bazemore has shown a great all-around game in the Summer League, but it will be interesting to see how much playing time he will receive this season.