In an NBA regular season game that ended earlier, the Warriors won the Thunder 110-98 without bloodshed, the team's backcourt core Klay Thompson started 28 minutes, 6 of 15, 8 of 3 three-pointers, and scored a team-high 21 points, and these 3 three-pointers also allowed Clay to successfully surpass Paul George with 1832 three-pointers, ranking 18th on the three-point list, and the current active player in front of him is 1911 for Kyle Lowry, and Klay wants to continue to improve his ranking. I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while.
Counting the last game in which the Warriors defeated the Kings by 12 points, Clay also scored the highest 23 points in the team, leading the team in two consecutive games, and Clay also proved the "return of the Buddha" with practical actions. According to relevant statistics, in the last 6 games, Klay can average 18.7 points per game, and the three-point shooting rate is as high as 44.7%, if his state can gradually get better, it is definitely good news for the Warriors who want to make a comeback this season and re-impact the championship.
After taking down the Thunder, the Warriors have achieved the longest 9 consecutive wins in the league, temporarily ranking second in the West with a record of 41 wins and 13 losses, and if they can maintain this winning streak, it is not impossible to regain their own Western Leader position later. In fact, before Klay returned, the Warriors once topped the league's list, and Jordan Pooler, who replaced Klay as the team's starting No. 2, also ushered in the peak of his career this season. He averaged 16.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and with such a stable scoring point, it also reduced a lot of pressure for Curry, and it is no exaggeration to say that if it were not for Poole's outbreak this season, during Curry's downturn in December, the Warriors would probably really lose, and it is not impossible to fall out of the upper half of the West in one fell swoop.
Now Klay's perfect return has also given the Warriors another stable firepower output point. So far, Klay has played in 12 games for the Warriors, averaging 16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3 assists in 23.9 minutes of playing time, and the three shooting rates have reached 42.6%, 37.8% and 100% respectively, which is perfect enough for a player who has suffered two consecutive major injuries. Klay's return has also made the Warriors more powerful, during this period, he helped the team achieve a good record of 8 wins and 4 losses, even if there are 4 games missed after the comeback, but the Warriors still rely on team strength to still win in these 4 games.
Although Klay was brought back this scoring point, the main reason why the Warriors were able to rank in the top two in the West this season was not because of their offense, but because of the defense that they had relied on for a living. As of now, the Warriors' offensive efficiency is only the eighth in the league 111.7, while the defensive efficiency is 103.5 to dominate the league, in the 10 or so games of Clay's return, the Warriors are more threatening on the defensive end, with Wiggins, Clay, the two flank gates sitting in the town, the Warriors' backcourt defense, is definitely the top level of the league.
I believe that with the deepening of the season, Clay's state at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends will get better and better, if he can return to the peak level of at least 80%, until the dream and Wiseman's injury return, then this season Warriors fans can really shout those 5 big words (Warriors championship).