Discuss the review | Tang Shen finally "made" himself as a substitute, and he might as well choose to be decent when he went down the mountain

On February 16, Beijing time, the Warriors announced before the game against the Jazz that Klay Thompson would serve as a substitute. This is Thompson's first off the bench since his rookie season, and it has been 4,358 days since his last off the bench that his 727-game streak has come to an end.

For Thompson, this was not a decent result, but more like Kerr's "punishment" after he couldn't bear it anymore. In the game against the Clippers on February 15, Thompson's poor performance, unreasonable selection, and foul in a life-or-death situation ruined the team's efforts throughout the court, and he finally made himself to the bench.

Poor form, a brief reconciliation with himself after introspection, a brief recovery, and a poor state again, Thompson fell into an endless loop.

The performance is sluggish and the mentality is still unbalanced

The Warriors went 8-9 in their first 17 games, and Thompson played in 16 games, averaging 15 points per game while shooting just 40.2 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range.

Against the Timberwolves, Thompson played 1 minute and 43 seconds before being ejected due to a conflict, and for two consecutive years he clashed with opponents due to a mental imbalance when he was in a slump at the beginning of the season, and in 2022 he clashed with Booker, this time with McDaniels.

Off the court, Thompson turned on the "scare" mode. Faced with Warriors' Tim Kawakami's questioning about his status, Thompson was angry and asked, "So what do you want? Do you want Kerr to put me off the bench? Of course you can advise Kerr to do that, but sometimes, you gain time to be patient and find yourself, and I feel like history is on our side." ”

After learning of Charles Barkley's criticism of him, Thompson countered with Barkley's lifelong championship: "Has this guy given us any recognition? Do you think he understands how hard it is to win a championship? Does he know how hard it is to win a championship every year?"

Thompson's remarks and the pattern of behavior that the more inaccurate he is on the court, the more he wants to shoot, are all manifestations of Thompson's anxiety. So, in the game against the Suns on December 13, 2023, when Thompson was abandoned by Kerr in the decisive moment of the 2-of-10 shooting, he vented his frustration by throwing a cup rack on the sidelines.

Endless loop

Thompson's problem couldn't be more obvious, his legs are no longer strong enough to support him with the ball, and the Buddha who once could ignore all defenses and twist his body to shoot difficult shots has degenerated from a historical shooter to an ordinary shooter. At this stage, "reasonableness" is Thompson's top priority to maintain efficiency.

Kerr made it clear: "Constantly bursting, that's the blueprint, and to do that, Thompson has to pass the ball out when someone is defending, rather than a one-on-one one-on-one with a difficult step-back jumper." Sometimes he rewards himself for two bad shots just after he has scored two goals. I reminded him that if you're not in an open position, you move the ball. ”

As Kerr said, in addition to having a good hand, Thompson's good shooting and passing are also keys, as well as the willingness of the defensive end to defend the big opponent. For example, playing Magic, Thompson hit key shots, and the top defense Banchero worked well. For example, playing the Bulls, Thompson and Tress Jackson-Davis's blocking and pick-and-roll work smoothly. For example, against the Jazz, Thompson scored 26 points efficiently.

Before these games, Thompson showed an attitude of reconciliation with himself, saying that he "should enjoy the time in the Warriors' jersey, pass the torch to the young players, and be a better mentor", and he promised to "emulate Reggie Miller and Ray Allen in the twilight of their careers to be effective, and be willing to accept the cuts in order to stay with the Warriors, and have fun."

But it is not easy to achieve unity between words and deeds, especially in times of adversity. It's been rare for Thompson to have two games in a row this season, and his form has been inconsistent.

The way down the hill should be chosen decent

As an all-time leading scorer, Thompson has the pride, stubbornness, and self-confidence that have led him to a great career today. But stubbornness and self-confidence are also double-edged swords, and now, Thompson's stubbornness and self-confidence have hurt the Warriors even more. With the rise of Podemsky and Kuminga, Thompson should take a step back and make sacrifices, rather than being cocooned.

In this regard, Thompson's role model is Willis. Wei Shao accepted Ham's arrangement to play as a substitute when he was in the Lakers, and came to the Clippers to take the initiative to apply to play as a substitute when the team lost 6 in a row, and often only played about 20 minutes a game, but he never made a fuss, which led to the Clippers' Northern Expedition.

Because of age and injuries, Thompson is no longer able to complete the transformation through the development of the organization and the ball after hitting a bottleneck like Duncan Robinson, but he can learn to apply for a substitute to make a better choice for the overall interests of the team.

Only then will Thompson be able to walk the way down the mountain with dignity.