It’s no secret that Klay Thompson hasn’t been his usual sharp-shooting self in this year’s playoffs, especially in his last few games. The Warrior’s All-Star shooting guard is currently averaging playoff career lows in field goal percentage (.388), 3-point percentage (.360), player efficiency rating (8.7) and points per game (15).
Former Warrior’s guard and Hall of Farmer Rick Barry told KNBR 1050’s The Audible Tuesday that Thompson’s issues scoring the ball stem from poor decision’s that he’s making with the ball in his hands.
“I think he’s had poor shot selection,” Barry said. “If you look at it he’s actually forced up some shots and he’s a quick shooter but being a quick shooter when you’re open is one thing. Being a quick shooter with somebody right in your face is another. Right now he’s struggling and he’s taking bad shots. He’s a little bit off-balance and he was turned sideways on some. I just think that he’s pressing a little bit.”
Barry thinks that a possible solution to Thompson’s shooting woes may be better communication with his bigs on screen plays.
“I think what he needs to do is he just needs to talk to some of the centers and have better ball delivery so that when he runs his guy into a screen, the ball is there,” Barry said. “The ball has to be delivered before you come off the screen, especially for a guy like Klay, so that he can turn and shoot it and there’s no way the defender’s getting anywhere near him. He’ll start shooting the ball better and that’s just not happening right now. They’re not executing well enough to get him the kinda shots he needs to get so he can shoot the way he’s capable of.”
Listen to the full interview below. To listen to Barry’s comments on Thompson skip to the 4:00 mark.
