On March 8, Beijing time, the well-known American media The Ringer analyzed Thompson who returned from injury from a data perspective, unveiled several major changes in him compared with before the injury, and discussed how his current impact on the Warriors' championship rush will be.
It's been two months since Thompson's comeback, and he's in a warrior-like state: ups and downs. When analyzing the five-time All-Star comeback, the most important statistic is his average of 16.5 points per game. Statistically, of all the players in NBA history who returned after at least two seasons of injury, no one was more successful than Thompson.
The Ringer lists the average scoring points per game for all players who return after at least two seasons off, with Only Jordan and Paul Arizine higher than Thompson, but neither of them is suspended for injury, Jordan (22.9 points in 2001-02) is retired, and Alizin (21.0 points in 1954-55) is military service. Before Thompson's comeback, the highest points per game for his return from an injury absence for at least two seasons was 14.1 points per game, and he belonged to Bill Walton in 1982-83.
So, how has Thompson himself changed compared to before the injury?
Change 1: His three-point shots are more frequent
The data shows that Thompson has made more than 10 three-point shots per 75 rounds, reaching a career peak, which is also the first time in Thompson's career that three-point shots account for more than 50% of total shots. If Thompson can maintain a steady shooting percentage, that's not a bad thing. Because in the three seasons before the injury, Thompson's three-point shot was considered to be a bit on the sidelines. His three-point shooting percentage of 42 percent makes him 10th in the league that same period, but his three-point shooting percentage is only 65th in the league.
Change 2: His three-point shot angle dropped
Thompson's three-point shots were more numerous, but not more accurate. So far this season, Thompson's three-point shooting rate is only 37.1%, the lowest in his career, and in every previous season, Thompson's three-point shooting rate has reached at least 40%. For the first time in his career, his effective shooting percentage was below the league average. After being away from the NBA for so long, some rust is normal, but worryingly, there are some changes in Thompson's shot arc: The data shows that his shot angle has dropped.
According to Second Spectrum, Thompson averaged around 46 degrees on three-point shots in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, but this season, his three-point shot angle dropped to 44.1 degrees. In the last game against the Lakers, his average shot arc was only 41.8 degrees, more than 4 degrees lower than before he was injured.
This may be related to his injury, but for an elite-level shooter, the obvious change in arc may also have a huge impact on the shooting percentage, which may be one reason why Thompson's current three-point performance is not as good as the career average.
Variation 3: His three-point shooting percentage declined as he received the ball
Before this season, Thompson shot 44 percent from three-point range, but so far this season, his three-point shooting percentage has been just 35.8 percent, although his dry three-point shooting percentage is still high (41.3 percent). Perhaps aware of the difference in shooting percentage between the two shots, Thompson's dry-pull three-point shooting percentage this season has set a career high.
Variation 4: His possession offense has increased significantly
In addition to creating more scoring opportunities on his own, Thompson also creates more opportunities for his teammates. So far this season, his assist rate has reached a career high, and he has seen more touches, dribbles and breakouts than in the past, than in a healthy season before. Green's absence is one of the reasons why Thompson has changed his playing style, missing the Warriors' organizational core, Thompson has played more roles, and he is also more active in carrying the ball.
Variation 5: His speed has decreased
Thompson's athleticism after returning from injury is a matter of great concern to fans. Although he had staged a crazy dunk when he first returned, it turned out to be a flash in the pan, and so far this season, Thompson has played 19 games and still has only one dunk. His pace has dropped markedly, with Thompson peaking at 28-29 feet per second (8.53 m-8.84 m/s) this season, compared to 24.7 feet per second (7.53 m/s) so far this season.
Change 6: He is no longer the first choice for outside defense
The BBall Index has a score on alignment difficulty to assess the difficulty of a player's alignment defensive task, and Thompson's alignment difficulty has never fallen below 92.6 before a serious injury, but this season his alignment difficulty has fallen to 42.6. The Ringer pointed out that Thompson's defensive strength after injury is not as good as before, in the 2018-19 season, he most often defended the league's top scorers such as Hield, Lillard and Mitchell, but this season, he mainly defended against the second and third scorers such as Gordon, Gidey and Bain. These people are not the main offensive threat to the opponent. The Warriors currently use Wiggins to keep an eye on the opposing arrow figure (alignment difficulty 97.7), while defensive expert Peyton II has a high counterpoint difficulty of 99.2.
After looking at these changes, it is not difficult to understand that Thompson, who has returned from serious injuries, can still play a big role in the offensive end, but it is really difficult for the defensive end to regain the power of the past, and he is no longer the top 3D before. Are you optimistic that Thompson will help the Warriors regain the championship this season? Welcome to leave a message to express your opinion.