Hoops Habit
Fansided

Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 2 vs. Rockets

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) attempts a shot over Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) in the fourth quarter in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 115-106. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) attempts a shot over Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) in the fourth quarter in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 115-106. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Golden State Warriors
Apr 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) dribbles the ball between Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry (31) and guard Patrick Beverley (2) in the fourth quarter in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 115-106. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Underrated Klay

It made sense to rest Curry for Game 2 and err on the side of caution in a series that was pretty much decided in the first half of Game 1. But with the league MVP out, the Rockets had their best shot at stealing a game at Oracle Arena and it was only natural to question how Klay Thompson, the team’s new No. 1 option, would respond to the added pressure of carrying the offense.

On the defensive end, Thompson had done a remarkable job on Harden, keeping him off the foul line and limiting him to 17 points on 19 shots in Game 1. But even after dropping 38 points on the Rockets earlier in the season in a game Golden State won without Curry, there was no guarantee Thompson would rise to the occasion again, especially while being tasked with containing Harden.

Luckily, Thompson was 100 percent ready for the challenge.

In Game 1, the Dubs didn’t really need Thompson in a game that was over by halftime, so it was perfectly fine that he only put up 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting. But in Game 2, he wound up outplaying Harden by a significant margin, even though the Beard still finished with 28 points and 11 dimes.

The other Splash Brother tallied 34 points, five assists and three rebounds to lead the way for Golden State, going 8-for-20 from the floor, 3-for-8 from three-point range and getting to the foul line a whopping 16 times, where he made 15 of them. By comparison, Harden went 13-for-15 from the charity stripe.

Playing alongside Curry, sometimes it’s easy to take Klay Thompson for granted. It becomes downright silly when you remember that if it weren’t for Curry’s record for made three-pointers in 2015-16 (402) and his former record from 2014-15 (286), Thompson would’ve become the single season leader for made threes this year (276).

But as we saw in Game 2 with him leading the charge, the Dubs are so damn good they’d probably still be a 50-win team even without their MVP. Klay Thompson is a huge part of that, and despite Curry and Draymond Green being locks for an All-NBA team, the Warriors are certainly deserving of a third spot for their second Splash Brother.

Next: No. 2