Warriors Star Player Responds To Klay Thompson’s Comeback Following A Sluggish Start By Benching Him.
Klay Thompson has been playing quite well recently, hasn’t he? The former NBA champion was widely criticized after his awful start to the 2023-24 season. Many called for the Golden State Warriors to let the long-time shooting guard go. However, Steve Kerr instead made the call to move Thompson to the bench instead of letting him go.
The move has done wonders for Thompson’s performance this season. In ten games this year where he came off the bench, the Warriors star is averaging over 20 points per game on ridiculous efficiency. Speaking to reporters after a big win over the Lakers, Draymond Green talked about the change in Thompson’s mindset from the start of the season to today.
“”I think early on, [Klay Thompson] was too worried about people judging him. And now he don’t care… I think it shows incredible maturity.”
Thompson struggled mightily to start the season. The Warriors guard would have some good games here and there, but it was largely overshadowed by his poor performances. Awful shot selection and a dip in percentages greatly diminished his scoring prowess. He also just struggled to keep up with the starting units in the NBA.
Now that he’s on the bench, Thompson is feasting on other team’s bench units. Klay and Chris Paul on the Warriors’ bench allows the starting unit to breathe better, as they can hold on to leads better. There was concern that Thompson, like other former All-Stars, would balk at the idea of taking on a bench role. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
The move to the bench also enabled Jonathan Kuminga and the other Warriors young stars to earn a larger role. As a result, the team is much more well-rounded than before. It’s lead to more success for the team in general, with Kuminga playing much better now than to start the year.
The hope is that this continues to be a trend as the Warriors gun for a playoff berth. Currently, they sit at 9th place, good for the Play-In Tournament. Will they be able to hold on to this spot, or can they make a run to the sixth place.
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LeBron James and Darvin Ham on Anthony Davis’ Injury
Anthony Davis left the Warriors-Lakers game early after copping a poke to the eye and LeBron and Darvin Ham spoke about the injury postgame.
Davis left the game in the first quarter on Saturday night after he was accidentally hit in the left eye by Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis while scoring a layup.
He tried to play on for the next few minutes but his eye began to swell shut.
“I think he got an elbow to the left eye. Wasn’t able to see out of that left eye, vision blurred,” Ham told reporters after the Lakers’ 128-121 loss to the Warriors. “Looking at the doctors, they were working on him from the time he left the floor and went back to the training room through halftime. The biggest thing is just making sure he’s OK and we’ll get an update on him pretty soon.”
He will be monitored to determine his availability for Monday’s game against the Hawks.
LeBron spoke about the loss and how losing AD changed the whole landscape of the Lakers’ plan.
“When you’ve been preparing for a couple of days with our prep and you lose a key component to your team in one quarter, we tried to pick it up, but, obviously, there’s some things we can’t do without AD,” LeBron said.
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell added, “We’re not accustomed to playing without [Davis]. He’s played almost every game this year, right? So that’s something that is unfamiliar for us. But it’s no excuse. Jaxson played his ass off. Everybody else that came in stepped up to the plate. But that’s a tough team, well-coached team. So it’s not going to be easy.”