Golden State Warriors: Which Klay Thompson will show up in Game 5?

Klay Thompson is extremely important to the Golden State Warriors’ success in the NBA Finals. Question is, which Klay will show up in Game 5?

Will the real Klay Thompson please stand up? The Golden State Warriors shooting guard can be lethal, with the ability to score 60 points on just 11 dribbles. But his sporadic play of the early rounds of the NBA playoffs has seeped into the NBA Finals.

Thompson struggled in Game 1, scoring six points on just 3-of-16 shooting. He rebounded to score 52 combined points in Games 2 and 3 before shooting 4-of-11 in Game 4. It’s been a somewhat puzzling roller coaster for Thompson with, at least offensively, more downs than ups.

In the playoffs, Thompson is shooting just 40 percent, scoring 20 points in just four games. It’s a stark contrast to the regular season, where Thompson rarely scored less than 20 points twice in a row. His shooting percentage is also nearly six points below his season average.

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For me Klay Thompson falls closer to Kemba Walker and Mike Conley than Jimmy Butler and John Wall when it comes to league hierarchy. He didn’t crack the top 20 in win shares, value over replacement, or for that matter, field goal percentage.

He hardly qualified for top 10 in three-point field goal percentage. He’s a microwave scorer that often relies on his teammates to get him buckets.

To me, he’s a very good, but not great player.

But Thompson’s value to the Warriors can’t be undermined. According to ESPN, the Warriors shooting guard scores five less points in losses than he does wins, shoots a far lower percentage and is just all-around less impactful.

The second half of the “Splash Brothers” only shoots 27 percent percent from deep in Warriors losses. The bottom line, the Warriors struggle when Klay Thompson struggles.

The splits aren’t as striking for his teammates. When the Warriors lose, Curry and Durant score two points less per game and take about the same number of shots. And When Draymond Green performs more efficiently offensively – more points, better shooting percentage, less turnovers – the Warriors are actually worse.

A breakdown of the numbers reflects the value of Thompson; when he is off the Warriors overall chances of winning drops dramatically. And when Klay scores the lion’s share of the team’s points, his team is nearly unbeatable. Golden State is 8-0 when Klay Thompson scores more than 30 points.

But his value might even be more profound on the defensive end. Despite his paltry offensive performance in Game 1, Thompson was a lockdown perimeter defender, forcing the Cavs into bad shots and setting the tone.

Scott Rafferty, with the FanSided’s “The Step Back” compared Irving’s play with Thompson guarding him compared to any other Warriors player in the first three games.

The Cavaliers electric point guard was one of the best players in the league in isolation and off the pick-and-roll, according to Rafferty. But Warriors locked down LeBron’s Robin in the first three games. And when Thompson was responsible for the matchup in Game 3, Irving shot 0-5 from the field. Thompson is fleet of foot for his size, and his 6-foot-7 frame is difficult for the smaller Irving to shoot over.

So Klay is one of the rare guards in the league with the intangibles to matchup the Cavaliers gunner.

Irving was unstoppable in game four, regularly knifing to the basket and drilling deep jumpers on his way to a 40-point performance. It was the catalyst to a Cavs win, and if the Warriors want to capture the championship in five games, they’ll need to keep Irving in his cage. Thompson is just the guy for the job. Which is why Thompson may be the most valuable Warrior going forward.

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But not the Thompson who struggled to hit the rim in Game 1, or the Thompson who couldn’t stay in front of Irving in Game 4. That has no value for Golden State.

So will the real Klay Thompson please stand up? If not, the Golden State Warriors are gonna have a problem.

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