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Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Winning Crucial Game 3

By Gerald Bourguet

May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) moves to the basket ahead of Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) moves to the basket ahead of Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots a basket against the Houston Rockets during the first half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Get Klay Thompson Going

If you hadn’t watched a second of this series, you’d have thought Klay Thompson was having an awful time against the Houston Rockets from the box score. Even if you were watching the games, you might be tempted into thinking that.

His threes haven’t been falling, he hasn’t been producing on offense and James Harden has been having an MVP-caliber series with Thompson (mostly) defending him.

But it’s really a simple cause and effect: all the energy Thompson is exerting on the defensive end trying to check Harden is catching up with him offensively. Thompson is shooting 12-for-33 from the field so far in this series, but his anemic 2-for-14 conversation rate from downtown is even more troubling.

Thompson needs to get those shots to fall for the Warriors to win a championship, but to be honest, he’s actually done a very good defending Harden; the Beard has just been on another level so far. Take a look back on the kinds of shots Harden is hitting and you’ll see a good contest from Thompson almost every time. Besides, Klay made the game-winning defensive stand in Game 2.

Even on the shots where Harden creates clear separation, those are just brilliant offensive plays from a dynamic one-on-one player who finished second in the MVP voting this year. Take a look at Harden’s 44 percent shooting from the regular season and it’s reasonable to wonder when his current 58.5 percent shooting will come back down to earth.

Thompson has made Harden work in this series and if he can continue to do so, the Warriors should have enough offensive firepower to outplay the rest of Houston’s roster.

But if this Splash Brother can win just one individual battle against the Beard in this series (which he did during the regular season), the Dubs will have a good chance of stealing a road game.

Next: Stephen Curry: Top 10 Moments From His MVP Season

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