Klay Thompson breaks out of shooting slump with season-high 38 points in the Warriors' win over Milwaukee Bucks in the Warriors' win over Milwaukee Bucks
Published: March 12, 2021 US time
Publisher: ESPN
Article author: Kendra Andrews
Article translated by de Gaulle
At the end of the game, Klay Thompson walked into the players' tunnel at the Chase Center. In the stadium behind him, the shouts of the fans echoed: "Well played, Clay! In this background sound, Thompson walked toward the locker room while high-fiveding acquaintances. Coupled with the smile on his face, everyone can see how good his mood is.
"It feels great," Thompson said of his mood.
No wonder Thompson is so excited and happy, because the game that just ended was the best game he has played since his comeback. In the Warriors' home game against the defending champion Bucks, Thompson athletically shot 15-of-24 and scored a season-high 38 points. In addition to this, there are a few numbers worth noting, that is, Thompson shot eight three-pointers in this game, in addition to contributing 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
The last time Thompson played a similar performance was in March 2019. In a Game of the Warriors' home game against the Nuggets, Thompson scored nine three-pointers in a single game and scored 39 points. And after exactly 3 years and 4 days, Thompson once again made the Warriors' home fans feel his ability and the pressure that came with it. It was also blessed by Thompson's heroic performance that the Warriors beat the Bucks 122-109 at home, expanding the number of consecutive wins to three.
Originally, before the battle with the Bucks began, many people's attitude towards Thompson was still mainly worried. Thompson returned to the game in early March after missing a few games due to illness, but in the four games he played before the game against the Bucks, his personal form and feel were extremely bad. The average athletic shooting rate in the four games was only 34%, and the three-point shooting rate dropped to 23.3%.
"Before, everybody talked about my shooting as if they were talking about a big deal," Thompson said with a laugh after the battle with the Bucks, "I want to say that I'm not happy with my shots, but I know that some nights I'm going to play well." I just know that, after all, I've done so many things that most players haven't done before, so I don't doubt myself. ”
As Thompson said, although the previous four games have been in poor shape, this does not affect him in the slightest, when facing the defending champions, he still has enough confidence to shoot every shot. Seeing Thompson's performance like this, head coach Steve Kerr finally grew a breath. According to Cole, Thompson, who has recently been in a difficult situation, frequently practices shooting. Today, this hard work has paid off.
"He's very demanding of himself and he's very hungry to win," Kerr said, "and in this game, I think he's gradually relaxed and didn't have to look for shooting opportunities in a hurry." In the past few games, he has often made some difficult shots at the beginning of the game, which is not conducive to his entry into the rhythm of the game. In this game, he was looking for a better shot from the beginning. You all know Clay, he must have scored a few goals, and a lot of difficult shots made the chances easier for him. ”
As Kerr said, after entering his shooting state, Thompson changed back to the "god of soup" that fans are familiar with. Throughout the game, Thompson was efficient in catching shots and shooting at 8 of 12. Of his 24 athletic shots, 18 were done with interference from his opponents, and Thompson hit 11 of them and scored 27 points.
Thompson's outburst on offense ignited the Warriors' entire team's offense. In this game against the Bucks, the Warriors shot 48.4 percent of the athletic shooting percentage and 40.0 percent accuracy outside the three-point line. Clay is like a mirror that reflects the offensive face of the Warriors' entire team. Throughout the game, they became very patient in their offensive choices and opportunities.
That became the key to the Warriors' eventual home win, and it was also the point that coach Kerr wanted the team to keep in mind until Draymond Green returned from injury. Kerr has stressed more than once that many of the problems that the Warriors have encountered before will not be automatically solved with the return of Green. Green can indeed fill in some of the holes on the defensive end, but many of the shortcomings in the offense need to be corrected by these Warriors players today on their own.
Specific to the game with the Bucks, in addition to Thompson's more patience in shooting opportunities, another typical example is Stephen Curry. Before the game with the Bucks began, Kerr had pointed out Curry, hoping that in the battle against the Bucks, he could patiently find personal offensive opportunities while taking on more of the traditional point guard duties, that is, to give his teammates more opportunities to create opportunities and deliver cannonballs.
After the game, looking at the data alone, under the opponent's targeted defense, although Curry only shot 7 times in the whole game and scored 8 points, he also sent the highest 8 assists in the game, really shouldering the organizational responsibility. This is also the first time since April 2019 that Curry has won no more than 10 shots in a single game. Considering that Curry played 10 minutes before leaving the game, the battle with the Bucks really has great symbolic significance.
"If the opponent is still on the field and keeps wrapping Stephen, then the rest of the people (Thompson and Poole) will get a lot of opportunities, which will make it very difficult for the opponent to guard against," Kerr said after the game.
Although Curry did not score in double figures, but at his side, in addition to Thompson, who scored 38 points, the starting Jordan Poole also contributed 30 points, and Wiggins, who was relatively sluggish after the All-Star Game, also played the first game in the past 2 months with a single score of 20+, and he contributed 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
"I have the impression that no player, like Stephen [Curry], has suffered so many double or even three-man bags," Thompson said, "but it gives me a lot of room." So I'm really grateful to him for being able to attract and change the opponent's defense a lot when he's on the pitch, which also gives the rest of us a really good chance to attack. Such a thing can be done by anyone but Stephen. ”
One of the big reasons why the Bucks are using such a aggressive defensive strategy against Curry in this game is that they don't think Thompson still has the explosive power of the previous scoring. So the Bucks believe that as long as Curry is blocked, the Warriors' offensive system will collapse in half. But Thompson, who regained his bravery, and Poole, who performed well, made the Bucks' strategy ultimately fail.
"I'm looking forward to playing this night, and I've been waiting too long," Thompson said, "and a win like this is a great encouragement to our confidence in the team and to my personal confidence." I especially wanted to hit 40 points on the court, and while 38 points was good, 40 points sounded better. But anyway, it was a fun night. ”