Klay Thompson put together another clunker in Wednesday night’s tough loss to the Phoenix Suns.
A little rust was to be expected from Klay after he missed two-and-a-half years due to Achilles and ACL injuries. He’s shown flashes of his former self, like his 37-point barrage in 40 minutes last week against the Atlanta Hawks. But more often than not, he’s struggled to find his rhythm and shot.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Thursday to discuss Klay’s struggles, the team heading into the final five contests of the regular season and more. You can listen to the full interview above.
“One hundred percent, he’s forcing it,” Kerr said of Thompson. “He knows it and we’ve talked about it. He just has to stay with it, stay poised and stay connected."
In 34 minutes on Wednesday night against the Suns, Thompson went 5-for-21 from the field and 1-for-10 from 3-point land en route to 13 points. Perhaps Thompson doesn’t have as much lift as he had before his injuries, because it seems like he often misses at the front of the rim or airballs short. Such was the case on Wednesday.
In 29 games back this season, Thompson is averaging 18.7 points and 3.2 3-pointers per game while posting career lows in field goal percentage (41.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.5).
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Before his injury – and when he’s humming – Thompson can make it look effortless on the floor. This is a guy who once scored 60 points on 11 dribbles. Whereas he used to create shots with his off-the-ball movement, it seems Klay is trying to generate more shots with his dribble this season.
“The conversation is generally about concepts,” Kerr said. “Move, the ball will come back to you if you give it up. Spacing – if we get good spacing then the ball moves and he’s much more likely to get a good shot. So those are the types of conversations we have.”
His teammates were also guilty of forcing him passes when he first returned, but that seems to have subsided. For Kerr, it’s just a matter of time and familiarity.
“Just the mental aspect of the difficulty of coming back after such a long absence,” Kerr said. “And not having the same comfort level with the team that he had before. That stuff takes time. He just needs to be patient.”
