Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 1 vs. Blazers

2. Holy Krap, Killa Klay Is Good

Draymond Green’s triple-double made for an easy to read stat line, but holy crap has Klay Thompson been phenomenal since Curry went down. In the first round, he was tasked with becoming the No. 1 option on offense while also defending James Harden, which he did remarkably well.

In the Western Conference semifinals, Thompson will be charged with a similar task, and if Game 1 was any indication, he’s going to do another exemplary job.

In Sunday’s convincing victory, Thompson put up a game-high 37 points, going 14-for-28 from the field and 7-for-14 from three-point territory. But his production wasn’t only impressive because his long range shot was falling; Thompson was unstoppable in every phase of the game.

In the first quarter, Thompson set the tone for the whole series with 18 quick points, outscoring the entire Blazers team (17 points) in the period. He was unstoppable attacking the basket, he chipped in five rebounds and five assists…and he did all this while bottling up Damian Lillard.

True enough, Lillard finished with 30 points to lead the Blazers, but those points came on 8-of-26 shooting. The Warriors can live with that, even if Dame was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line.

Sometimes a player of Curry’s caliber can make it easy to take Klay Thompson for granted. Game 1 was yet another reminder that even without Curry, this special Warriors team might have won 50-55 games this season anyway.

Next: No. 1