Much has been made of Stephen Curry’s struggles in game 2 against the Houston Rockets, but Klay Thompson probably had an even worse offensive performance.
Thompson went just 3-11 from the field for 8 points in 37 minutes during the Golden State Warriors 127-105 loss in game 2 to the Rockets.
Perhaps the reason this has gotten less attention than Curry’s lackluster outing is that Thompson had an excellent game 1.
During that game 1 victory, Thompson shot 9-18 from the field, 6-15 from 3-point range, and scored 28 points. He also always serves as an extremely valuable perimeter defender, which makes any weak performance on offense more forgivable.
A pattern seems to be emerging from these first two games, though. The Warriors come out victorious if Thompson has a great game on offense.
Both the Splash Brothers realize that they need a big game 3 to help the Warriors regain control of this series. While Curry is confident that he’ll soon be able to rediscover his shooting stroke, Thompson is similarly anticipating a resurgence.
Marcus Thompson of the Athletic tweeted out that Thompson unequivocally guaranteed that he’ll play better in game 3.
The good news is that he can fulfill that promise simply by scoring double digits and shooting above 30% from the field. He set the bar very low for himself, but Thompson is a superstar and one of the most dynamic shooters in the world.
Playing in front of such a raucous Oracle Arena crowd might be just the remedy these two backcourt stars need. When they’re able to feed off the energy inside that building, it’s amazing how shots just seem to effortlessly go in.
When both Curry and Thompson are shooting the way they’re capable of, the Warriors are nearly impossible to beat.
When you add Kevin Durant’s exploits to that mix, it’s almost not even fair for the opposing team having to worry about three elite scorers out on the floor.
The Warriors have gotten to the point where if they play to their full capacity, nobody in the NBA can defeat them. They didn’t play to their collective ability in game 2. Game 3 is poised to be their reassertion in this series, though.