The Golden State Warriors are in the midst of a tumultuous season and the inefficient performances of Klay Thompson have played a huge role in it. Due to the awful form that Thompson’s been in, Steve Kerr has been choosing different players to close out the games. During an appearance on 95.7 The Game’s Willard and Dibs, Kerr also admitted that the Splash Brother has come to terms with it.
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Recently during the Golden State Warriors-Brooklyn Nets, Klay Thompson went 0/3 from three-point land. Getting no production out of Thompson, Kerr took the tough decision of keeping the 4-time champ benched for the final 7:19 minutes of the closely contested bout.
During his conversation with Mark Willard and Dan Dibley, Kerr highlighted the “rut” that Klay seems to be in. Further, the 58-year-old revealed that the 6ft 6” shooting guard didn’t disagree with any of his decisions.
“Klay’s going through a bit of a rut. He’s still a helluva player and a guy we’re going to need & count on, but this last week there’s been a few games where it felt like it was right to close with someone else. He’s embraced it, he’s accepted it,” Kerr said.
In the initial few months of the 2023-2024 campaign, despite the form that youngsters were in, the Warriors head coach displayed a lot of faith in his veteran players to close out the game. However, more recently, Kerr has trusted the younger players during the dying minutes of the game.
Despite benching Klay for the crucial part of the fixture against the Brooklyn Nets, Kerr elucidated how the multiple-time All-Star contributed to the team with different aspects of his game.
“[Klay] is still a very good player. He still represents something for us. The floor spacing, the defense, the versatility. It’s just different. Part of the challenge for him and us is to adapt to those changed circumstances,” Kerr said.
While Dub Nation will be concerned with Klay’s form, they will surely be delighted to see that Jonathan Kuminga is capitalizing on the extended minutes that he’s gotten. The 21-year-old has unarguably been the team’s second scoring option, recording nine 20-point games in the last 10 outings.
Klay Thompson on not being able to close out games
Following his 8-point performance against the Brooklyn Nets, Klay Thompson seemed frustrated when asked about Kerr’s decision to bench him. The 33-year-old admitted that he was struggling and revealed his dissatisfaction with his awful outings.
“Yeah, you kidding me? To go from one of the best players…It’s hard for anybody,” Thompson said.
Draymond Green, who overheard his teammate grumbling, tried making Thompson feel better by stating how he was sidelined for the dying minutes of an NBA Finals game.
Green said, “I didn’t close Game 5 of the Finals. Who the f**k cares?”
It is great to see Dray trying to lift Klay’s spirits. However, Thompson is in the midst of the worst season of his career. Apart from averaging the lowest points since his sophomore season, he is also shooting the ball at a career-low 41.5% from the field and 37.1% from three-point land. Hopefully, the two-time All-NBA player finds his rhythm before the Bay Area side is out of playoff contention.
