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Warriors need to find Klay Thompson early for rhythm

By Derek Tahara

May 14, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates in front of San Antonio Spurs forward David Lee (10) during the third quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Spurs 113-111. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates in front of San Antonio Spurs forward David Lee (10) during the third quarter in game one of the Western conference finals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Spurs 113-111. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Golden State Warriors need to find Klay Thompson more to help establish a rhythm that he has been missing thus far in the playoffs.

Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors’ other deadly shooter next to Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, has struggled mightily in the playoffs. According to basketball-reference.com, Thompson is shooting 38.3% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc this postseason. It is a significant drop from his playoffs last season when he shot 44.4% from the field and 42.4% from the three-point line.

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He is struggling through twelve games of the playoffs and I think it is significant for him to get going for the Warriors to have a chance at hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in mid-June. The best opportunity for Thompson to get into a rhythm is if acting head coach Mike Brown ran a play for him to get a layup on the first offensive possession of the first game of the NBA Finals.

Often times if a player is struggling, especially one as good as Thompson, he starts to press and take ill-advised shots that are not in the Warriors’ ball-movement style offense. It hurts his offensive flow and the team flow of the offense, which is why if he got a layup to start off the game, it could possibly get him going to see a shot go through the net early in the game.

Although Thompson is not scoring at his regular rate, his defense against the opposing team’s point guard or primary ballhandler has been excellent. His defense against Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum, Shelvin Mack and Patty Mills has been key to all three of the Warriors’ series wins so far. Thompson has a bigger challenge, presumably in Cleveland’s dynamite point guard, Kyrie Irving and he will have to be super locked-in to slow him down.

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Curry and Durant, Thompson’s star teammates could be better at getting the ball earlier in the game to Thompson, since they are already in a fantastic rhythm already. Instead of Durant shooting an elbow jumper to start off games or Curry with long bombs, they should make the concerted effort to get the other Splash Brother going early. Maybe Curry and Thompson can run a 1-2 pick-and-roll or have the Warriors run split action with Durant and Thompson with Durant popping out for a shot and having Thompson slip the screen to the rim for a layup.

The Finals are coming and the Warriors need Thompson to be at his best at both ends of the floor to be the only team standing. So please Klay, for all of #DubNation, get your pregame nap in earlier or limit your DMs time to focus on your offensive production for the biggest series in the playoffs.

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