Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were the leaders of the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 NBA title run and their subsequent 73-9 season. The pair’s deep-range shooting was so revolutionary at the time that that’s all opposition coaches could think about while playing against the Dubs. Tyronn Lue admitted how he fell into the same trap in the first few games of the 2016 NBA Finals.
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The veteran head coach relayed how the Warriors were able to get whatever they wanted in that series because of their fast movements of the ball. Their quick pace allowed more threes to go up uncontested, and it also distracted the Cavs from focusing on the points that the Dubs were getting inside the paint.
“What happens is a lot of people go crazy about the threes that Klay and Steph gonna make, but you lose sight of [everything else]. ‘S**t, they got 60 points in the paint,'” Ty Lue admitted on The Draymond Green Show. The 47-year-old also pointed out how the Warriors’ brand of basketball was completely different from the slow style of play practiced at the time by teams in the Eastern Conference.
So the Finals required some major adjustments, which was more difficult with the smoke screen that the Splash Bros put up with their three-point shooting.
Trying to contain the NBA’s first unanimous MVP and his absurdly efficient backcourt partner is enough of a challenge in its own right. But another reason the Warriors were so dominant was because of their all-around depth. The Dubs also saw notable scoring from players like Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, and Andre Iguodala. However, it was Draymond Green’s emergence that elevated the team from tough to unstoppable.
Lue pivoted to lauding the show’s host, discussing how Green added a whole extra layer to what Golden State could do on offense. “Because you running to stop them… and then you got Dray [Green], one of the best passers in the league, soon as you go out to help Steph, they slip, they get the dunks, they getting layups,” the Clippers head coach continued.
The multi-faceted forward’s ability to screen and roll, pick and pop, and find his teammates off dribble handoffs made him arguably the league’s most unique big man. Green’s undersized frame is quickly glossed over when considering the guard-like instincts he displays with the ball in his hands.
Cavs’ defense couldn’t keep up with Golden State’s “Big Three”
The former guard wasn’t exaggerating when he said his Cleveland squad simply couldn’t contain the constant motion in Golden State’s offense early in the series. The Warriors ran away victorious in each of the first two games of the 2016 NBA Finals, winning by 15 and 33 points respectively.
With Steph and Klay running around screens looking for a sliver of daylight, opposing guards JR Smith and Iman Shumpert had to exhaust their energy just to keep up on defense. Add to that Draymond’s creativity with the ball and it’s hard to gameplan for the Warriors no matter how much you prepare.
According to Lue, the Dubs’ offensive unpredictability was the backbone of what made Golden State’s first runs so special.
![Klay Thompson will end his time with the Golden State Warriors which brought him a shower of NBA titles and All-Star appearances to join the Dallas Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Klay signing with another team besides the Dubs has raised questions as to why the veteran sharpshooter would leave his forever home and try winning somewhere else, given that Curry and Draymond still have a championship run left in the tank. Well, it appears to be a matter of respect for Klay and not money, as the former Warriors player accepted a financially inferior contract to play three years with the Mavericks. Appearing on Gil's Arena, Kenyon Martin pointed out how the Warriors paying Green his $100 million contract, and lowballing Klay only a season later is downright disrespectful, highlighting it as the cause of Thompson's departure from GSW. The 46-year-old further pointed to the fact that Klay has had a better stat line, greater impact on winning, and played more consistently than Green through the years, and still got offered a worse contract, something that definitely rubbed Klay the wrong way. Talking about his opinion further, Martin said, "You paid Draymond [Green]...I'm a bucket, I've averaged more points than him, we don't do none of this without me...And this is the thanks I get? It's a slap in the face." But Martin's interpretation of loyalty and respect seems to conflict with NFL veteran, Shannon Sharpe's interpretation of the whole situation. The former NFL tight end believes that Klay got what he deserved, and the Warriors didn't low-ball him. The 56-year-old further added that in a contract year, players are expected to show out and prove their worth. But Thompson did the opposite, as the 34-year-old posted the second-worst statistical season of his career. Airing out his opinion further, Sharpe said, "If you go back and look at it, Jordan Poole had a career year when his contract was up, they paid him. Draymond played well, they paid him. Stephen A. said last week, This is statistically Klay’s worst year.’ It happened to be in a contract year. They didn’t wrong him.” Unlike his NBA counterpart, Sharpe seems to think that Klay got paid for his legacy when the Warriors paid him $190 million over 5-years back in 2019. It's important to note that Thompson signed that contract just weeks after blowing out his ACL, and still was offered the second-largest contract in franchise history. Another NBA veteran, Richard Jefferson, also seems to be siding with his league mate, calling out the Dubs front office for their disrespect of Klay. Richard Jefferson reveals how Thompson has been demanding a better contract since X'Mas last year After the news of Thompson's signing to the Mavericks finally went official, Richard Jefferson appeared on ESPN's daily show, 'NBA Today' to call out the Warriors for fumbling the bag, and not paying Thompson his due respect and money. During his rant, the former Warriors forward highlighted an incident between him and Thompson to further point out how the contract issues between Thompson and the Warriors had been lingering for over a year. Recalling the incident, Thompson said, " This was on Christmas Day. I get off the elevator, and I see Klay, and I'm like, 'Klay, what's up?' I'm like, 'Hey man, keep your mentals right.' He's like, 'Man, tell them to pay me my money...This was on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, a guy that had won four Championships. I don't give a damn what anybody says how much money they gave him over the years because he turned their franchise around." As far as perfect situations go, the whole Klay-Warriors scenario is less than ideal. Not only do the Dubs lose out on a bona fide franchise legend and one of the best shooters to ever play the game, but Klay also needs to adjust to life in a new team, a new city, and with new teammates and coaching scenarios. He will, of course, hope that all works out well, but if it doesn't we may see a Klay that regrets his decision to leave the Warriors.](https://cdn-wp.thesportsrush.com/2024/07/e368aa5e-untitled-design-2024-07-03t092652.398.jpg?format=auto&w=384&q=75)
