Golden State Warriors: 5 keys to beating the Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals
5. Klay returning to form
There are two sides to the game of basketball, and Klay Thompson has been admittedly stellar on the defensive end throughout the postseason. His willingness to tackle the tougher assignment in the backcourt is a huge reason the Dubs boast a 99.1 defensive rating in the postseason, the best mark among all playoff teams.
However, it’s also true that the other Splash Brother has looked a lot like NBA Finals Klay Thompson through these first three rounds on the offensive end — A.K.A. not very good.
That could be worrisome for the Finals, but it’s also a terrifying to think about what happens if he gets going, since the Warriors are a perfect 12-0 without him being much of a factor in the scoring column.
The Warriors have been the most dominant team in NBA postseason history and doing it with Klay Thompson playing like Austin Rivers.
— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) May 23, 2017
Through the Warriors’ first 12 playoff games, Thompson is averaging 14.4 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range. Those are drastic drop-offs from the 22.3 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor and 41.4 percent shooting from downtown that he posted during the regular season.
Up until this point, the Warriors haven’t faced an opponent capable of making them pay for Thompson’s shooting woes. On a more optimistic note, perhaps Klay is just getting his shooting slump out of the way now to avoid his third straight disappearing act in the Finals.
But if those struggles continue, and if Klay Thompson morphs into this year’s Harrison Barnes who doesn’t make Cleveland pay for leaving him open, this year’s Finals could get interesting in a hurry.