The Golden State Warriors will face off against the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day and will see an old friend in Klay Thompson. The legendary guard could accidentally help his former team get back on the right track, having been trending in the right direction with two-straight wins to get back to .500 on the season.
Sure, the Draymond Green incident with head coach Steve Kerr on the bench detracted from their win on Monday, but they have a chance to build upon their last two games and take down another Western Conference rival.
Warriors could oddly benefit from vintage Klay Thompson performance on Christmas
All season the Warriors have gone back and forth, looking strong for a game or two and appearing like they are about to take off before some ugly and frustrating losses that make one question how far the team can go as currently constructed.
Christmas Day provides Golden State a chance to string three-straight wins together and they could do so in emotional fashion with Thompson returning to the Bay Area. After everything he did in a Warriors uniform, the 5x All-Star is always going to get love from Warriors fans, and there is clearly still a lot of love between Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green even if his exit from the franchise was a bit messy.
Thompson may have some regrets about leaving the Warriors, but if he can deliver a vintage Klay performance on Thursday, that could actually be the best thing for the Warriors and their confidence as a team.
The Warriors have had a couple of vintage wins this season, including early triumphs over the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. Legendary back-to-back performances from Curry against the San Antonio Spurs were also a high water mark for the season.
But this Warriors team needs confidence in the worst way, and nothing would build confidence more than if they were able to withstand a classic Thompson shooting fest. If the veteran sharpshooter goes off yet the Warriors are still able to find a way to win, they will be feeling good about themselves heading into the new year as they can try to turn the page on what has been a frustrating start to the season.
Thompson seems like he is trending towards a big game. After a rough start to the season that saw him removed from the starting lineup, the 4x NBA champion has played better of late. On Monday night he scored 20 points in 31 minutes, drilling five of his 12 three-point attempts.
Do not be surprised if Thompson goes off on Christmas and forces Golden State into a tough game. The Warriors have been bad in clutch games this season, meaning that victory in a high-profile Christmas game with Klay going off could give them the spark they need to finally build some sustained momentum.