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Golden State Warriors: Expect Klay Thompson to bounce back strong

By Tony Pesta

OAKLAND, CA - FEBRUARY 12: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball before the game against the Utah Jazz on February 12, 2019 at ORACLE Arena 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - FEBRUARY 12: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball before the game against the Utah Jazz on February 12, 2019 at ORACLE Arena 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Golden State Warriors will need Klay Thompson at full strength in order to compete this season.

In the wake of multiple big losses in free agency, the Golden State Warriors need Klay Thompson more than ever. The five-time All-Star is battling hard to make a full recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Thompson gave his all to the team during the Finals. Scoring 30 points in just 31 minutes during Game 6, only a season ending injury stopped Thompson from forcing a Game 7 and potential three-peat for the Warriors.

Now, the Dubs face a dark and uncertain future. Kevin Durant is gone and Thompson is sidelined until the All-Star break. Luckily, the Warriors did a solid job of adding another star in D’Angelo Russell to keep the ship afloat while Klay recovers.

When Thompson returns, the Dubs will need him to hit the ground running. The team won’t have much time to piece everything together before the postseason begins. Thompson will have limited opportunity to run with a new roster before being thrown into the fire of the playoffs.

Thompson has played through his entire career without a serious injury. An ACL tear is something that has destroyed many NBA players. For Klay, this will hopefully be a minor speed bump.

He will certainly see a decline in his athleticism. His lateral quickness and overall explosiveness will not be the same. However, Thompson’s play  style shouldn’t be too heavily affected.

At the end of the day, Thompson is a 3-point specialist. Last season, Klay hit an average of 3.1 3-pointers per game on 40.2 percent shooting. His injury won’t have an impact on his pure jump shot.

This means that Thompson should be able to bounce back strong. The Dubs will be counting on him to play big in the playoffs and we can expect Thompson to do just that.

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