Klay Thompson makes his return to the Golden State Warriors and looked impressive considering his extended absence from the game.
After nearly three years away from live NBA games, Klay Thompson made his return to the Golden State Warriors lineup Sunday night and looked…impressive? At least that’s how I came away in his season debut for Golden State.
Thompson played 20 minutes and finished with 17 points and three rebounds on 7-for-18 shooting from the field. He obviously showed some rust, but that was expected after so much time off from live-action basketball.
If nothing else, he proved that while he still has some rust to shake off that he’ll still be able to fill a role for the Warriors this season. And that was very well evidenced by the team electing to start him and not bring him off the bench.
It’s clear that the team believes that he can have a big role for the team this season, heading into their possible championship run. Even though he looked pretty impressive, especially considering his circumstances, I don’t think that’s something we can say for sure at the moment.
But time is something the Warriors have right now, especially as they continue to look dominant even before Klay’s return back to the team.
The Warriors are tied with the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the league, at 30-9 are showing no signs of stopping. Golden State has the No. 1 defense in the league and as long as Stephen Cury continues to play at this MVP level, the Warriors are always going to have a chance to come out of the West in the playoffs.
And the return of Klay is only going to give them a better shot at winning it all this season. Klay is back and the Warriors are looking like the Warriors again.