Marcus Thompson: Warriors’ Klay Thompson is back in All-Star form
The sight would make most Warriors fans panic. Thompson, though, brushed off questions about his wrist as if they weren’t relevant.
What was relevant? Thompson’s irritation over an article in which he touted himself as the game’s best shooting guard. He didn’t like the big deal it became.
“I’m supposed to believe in myself,” said Thompson, the Washington State University product. “Everybody should say that.”
Thompson is back. Well, almost.
His health is back. His shot is back. His curmudgeonly disposition is back. That’s a great sign for the Warriors, not so much for the rest of the NBA.
For a chunk of the 24-0 start, the Warriors played without Thompson, at least without the All-NBA version of him. A sore back rendered him a shell of himself to start the season. Then an ankle sprain took him out.
But Thompson is finally getting back to himself.
Back to being a versatile scorer instead of just a 3-point specialist. He is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, on pace for a career high. And the uptick is inside the arc, where he is at a career-best 50.8 percent.
Back to being a pivotal defender for the Warriors. He is taking on point guards again, bailing out Stephen Curry, who has struggled to recapture his man-to-man defensive prowess from last year.
Thompson is back to being the Warriors’ back-breaker who sometimes seems just as capable of pulling off insane feats as Curry.
The absence of Thompson at his best should have underscored the value he brings. As players have noted, the Warriors didn’t play their best ball while starting 26-1. And part of that was because Thompson wasn’t playing his best.
Though Curry and Draymond Green are the two players most responsible for the Warriors’ assault on the record books, a clicking Thompson is the barometer for how dominant they can be.
Lately, he has been violating a tradition of hot two games, cold the next – which makes many Warriors fans frustrated with the All-Star.
He’s only two points off his average from last season, despite the slow start, and his value on defense is still noteworthy. Without Harrison Barnes sidelined the past 10 games and still not ready to return, Thompson’s defensive versatility is even more critical. He ends up guarding three positions while being a major cog in the offense.
This is how we remember Thompson. This is who the Warriors need him to be. A potent scorer and terrifying 3-point threat. A critical defender. The aloof personality not interested in his own hype.
Yeah, Thompson is back.