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Golden Sate Warriors: Klay Thompson is hitting his stride

By Tony Pesta

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 16: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he was called for a foul against the New Orleans Pelicans at ORACLE Arena on January 16, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 16: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he was called for a foul against the New Orleans Pelicans at ORACLE Arena on January 16, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Klay Thompson has had an up and down season for the Golden State Warriors but he may have finally hit his stride.

The Golden State Warriors have grown to rely on Klay Thompson’s consistent shooting. Aside from Stephen Curry, Thompson is arguably the greatest shooter in the world. His accuracy on the catch-and-shoot is something we have never seen before and he is a constant threat to opposing defenses.

It is no surprise that while Klay was struggling to find his shot to begin the season, the Warriors were also having trouble winning games. During the stretches in which Curry and Draymond Green were both missing games due to injury, Thompson was still in the midst of a cold shooting streak.

When Thompson isn’t hitting his shots it has a profound impact on the team. The offense quickly dies when they can no longer rely on Klay to knock down 3-pointers.

For the first 36 games of the 2018-19 season, Thompson shot just 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line. This is shocking as he is a career 51.7 percent shooter and has never had a full season below 40 percent.

Luckily, Klay has snapped out of it and is beginning to return to his usual self. Starting just before the New Year, Thompson has been quietly torching teams from deep. Over an 11 game stretch, Klay is connecting on 4.3 3-pointers a game on 46.9 percent shooting from deep. He is also averaging a season-high 26.2 points during this streak.

This run has included a few impressive performances such as back-to-back games with seven-made 3-pointers. His best game came most recently against the Los Angeles Lakers when he connected on an NBA record 10 straight 3-pointers. However, the inconsistency is still haunting Klay as he has also had games of 0-4 and 2-11 shooting in this time frame.

It is very peculiar for Klay to be off from deep. Expect to see Klay build off of this streak and continue to hit his stride all the way into the NBA playoffs.

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