It’s only January, but the Warriors have played some pressure-packed games this season. Tension built for days heading into Steph Curry’s record-breaking 3-point performance at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14. Now there’s a similar vibe heading into Sunday night’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The reason? It’s Klay Day, of course.
For the first time in 941 days, Warriors coach Steve Kerr got to pencil in Klay Thompson to his starting lineup, as the beloved Splash Brother was cleared to return to NBA game action.
"It feels surreal, honestly," Kerr said in his pregame press conference. "We were just having our coaches' meeting an hour-and-a-half ago and actually talking about Klay. It felt great. It felt strange that it took so long. I think our players felt it too in our walkthrough just now. Almost surreal. He's finally here, he's finally back."
Kerr confirmed that Thompson will be in the starting lineup with Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney. Kerr added that Thompson will be played in roughly five-minute spurts with a 15-20 minute restriction as he gets back into NBA game condition.
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Thompson hasn’t played since Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the final contest at Oracle Arena. He has endured rehabs for his ACL and Achilles tears and is ready to make his Chase Center debut. After the two-and-a-half year hiatus, Kerr expects the Warriors players to have some challenges as the mountain of the moment is realized.
"I know our fans are going to be going crazy," Kerr said. "It's going to be emotional. In a lot of ways, it'll be a difficult game to try and lock in while something much bigger than the outcome of the game is happening."
Tip-off is set for 5:30 PT. You can listen to the Warriors-Cavaliers broadcast on 95.7 The Game.
