All eyes have been on Klay Thompson since the Golden State Warriors star returned to the lineup on Jan. 9. It’s not just that Thompson is a beloved member of the Warriors’ three title teams, making his comeback game (aka “Klay Day“) so important that Draymond Green started the game despite an injury that has sidelined him since.
The stakes involved also couldn’t be higher. As Thompson tries to regain his form after the unprecedented back-to-back gut punch of tearing his Achilles just as his rehab from an ACL tear during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals was nearing its completion, he’s doing it with a Golden State team that once again has a championship on its mind.
If Thompson can become the kind of two-way contributor he was leading up to his injuries, the Warriors will be that much more complete and dangerous of a contender after already establishing themselves as one of the NBA’s top teams without him.
Now that we’re eight games into Thompson’s return, it’s time to take a look at what we’ve seen from him so far, digging into the advanced stats with additional perspective from his teammates and coaches.
A different style for Thompson
Watching Thompson play in the first three weeks of his comeback, it’s been obvious something is different, and it’s not just the headband he’s now sporting. Thompson, famous for his ability to score maximum points on minimum time of possession, is now dribbling. A lot.
“I’ve had this in my bag,” Thompson said. “I’ve been able to put the ball on the floor since high school … it’s just not my forte like shooting.”
Second Spectrum tracking numbers show something is different now. Thompson’s 73 touches per 100 possessions are most in the camera-tracking era, which dates back to 2013-14, and his 1.4 dribbles per touch are his most since 2015-16 — before former teammate Kevin Durant arrived in the Bay.
“The last time he was playing we had Kevin Durant. We had one of the ultimate shot creators next to Klay,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “Now there is probably more of a need for shot creation with their current roster. So I think being able to go to Klay and post him up or clear him side is absolutely a good option.”
Without Durant, we’ve seen Thompson creating his own shot more frequently than before. Second Spectrum also tracks whether a shot is an assist opportunity — that is, it would be an assist if the shot is made. So far, 63% of Thompson’s shots have been assist opportunities, his lowest mark since 2014-15.
To some extent, these changes probably reflect Green’s absence.
“With Draymond being out, the ball is going to be distributed more,” Kerr said. “Draymond is our main facilitator, leading assist guy. So with him out, a lot of guys will have to share those responsibilities, including Klay.”
Thompson’s rate of assist opportunities has typically been higher with Green on the court, while he predictably tends to dribble more without Green around to direct the offense. In fact, Thompson’s average dribbles per touch are actually lower than his previous marks with Green on the bench.
The return of his shooting touch
It’s interesting to note in the context of Thompson’s stylistic changes that he also has been more effective shooting off the dribble so far. One of the great catch-and-shoot threats of all time, Thompson is making just 31% of those 3-point attempts, per Second Spectrum tracking on NBA Advanced Stats. Yet he’s gone 6-of-13 (46%) on pull-up 3s, which would be the best mark of his career if maintained beyond the small sample.
Thompson bottomed out beyond the arc on Jan. 20, when he missed all seven of his 3-point attempts — six of them of the catch-and-shoot variety — in a home loss to the Indiana Pacers. At that point, Thompson was making just 26% of his catch-and-shoot attempts.
“I think a lot of it has to do with how he’s being guarded,” Stephen Curry said of the changes Thompson has made to his shooting. “Because after two-and-a-half years of being out and how loud his return is, I’m sure there is a lot of game-planning on where Klay is at all times.”
After missing the following two games (the first because it was the second night of a back-to-back, the second due to left knee soreness), Thompson looked much more like himself in each of his last two games. He went 2-for-4 on catch-and-shoot 3s on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks (adding one more off the dribble) and then went 5-of-9 beyond the arc Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves for his first two times shooting better than 50% beyond the arc in a game — something Thompson did 17 times in 2018-19, his last healthy season.
“He’s gotten more comfortable and become more patient … and you are seeing the results,” Curry said. “He’s showing his full repertoire.”
Easing into his defensive role
Along with his shooting, Thompson was also a crucial member of the Warriors’ championship teams because of his ability to defend the opposition’s best perimeter player. In his absence, Golden State’s coaching staff has had to find alternative options, with Gary Payton II and Andrew Wiggins taking on key defensive roles this season. Their presence has allowed the Warriors to ease Thompson in on defense.
Notably, Thompson has rarely guarded star players. According to analysis of matchup data from Second Spectrum, 18.5% of his defensive possessions thus far have come against players with a usage rate of at least 25%. That’s down from 26% of Thompson’s possessions during the 2018-19 regular season.
Now, Golden State isn’t exactly hiding Thompson. A higher percentage of his defensive possessions than in 2018-19 have come against players with a usage rate between 20% and 25% of their team’s plays. He’s just been more likely to be on secondary options like Desmond Bane and Jalen Brunson than their All-Star teammates Ja Morant and Luka Doncic. By contrast, in 2018-19, Thompson guarded Doncic more than twice as frequently as any other member of the Dallas Mavericks.
According to Kerr, he plans on continuing to have Wiggins take the No. 1 defensive assignment against the opponent’s best wing player. But as Thompson’s defense gets back up to speed, he will be given more defensive responsibilities.
“It’s going to be great,” said Wiggins of the potential he and Thompson have to be an elite defensive duo. “We can switch everything. When one person gets going, we can always try something else — a new face, a new body on him. [Thompson] is competitive and you know he loves to win. You can see that every time he plays that he loves to win. He loves to guard the best player, too. So I think we’re going to be special.”
The more confident the Warriors are in Thompson’s defense, the more options Kerr will have come playoff time.
Getting back to full strength
Thompson is trying to take the patience he learned while waiting to get back on the court for the past 2½ years and apply it to his game. But it’s easier said than done.
“I’m such a competitor,” Thompson said. “Sometimes I want to get it all back in one night.”
Thompson’s best game since his return came on Tuesday against Dallas. And it’s no coincidence that his improvement came with increased minutes. Thompson’s minute restriction was bumped up to 25, which also helped him avoid playing sporadic, short stints throughout the night, or several throughout the game with extended layoffs in between. It also makes him available for end-of-game scenarios for which the Warriors would want him on the court.
Kerr plans to use this new rotation pattern moving forward, and will continue to steadily increase Thompson’s minutes until he can get back to the minute load he had before he was injured — he averaged 34 minutes per game in 2018-19. Thompson said the uptick in minutes is a good sign for him, and is helping him find more of a rhythm, but he’s trying not to get overzealous.
“I’m just going to be patient and continue to play as hard as I can with the minutes I’m given,” Thompson said.
“It’s rare that someone takes a two-year hiatus from playing NBA games to coming in and dominating. I’m going to get to that point. I just have to be patient.”
The Warriors also haven’t been playing at full strength, missing Green since Jan. 9 and Andre Iguodala for four of their past five games. Once they are back, Thompson’s game will need to adjust even more, although those will be adjustments he has done in the past.
“We’re just missing Draymond and Andre. And when they are out there, I cannot wait for that day. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“It’s going to be real scary.”
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