During the Warriors’ historic march through the playoffs, really only one factor has been consistently missing – the offensive game of shooting guard Klay Thompson. He’s averaging just 14.4 points per game in the playoffs, a career low, while shooting .385 percent from the field. However, his defense has been as effective as ever, locking down the opposing team’s best player pretty consistently.
He finally exploded offensively in Game 2 of the Finals on Sunday, scoring 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while also pulling down seven rebounds.
Warriors’ assistant coach Ron Adams told Murph & Mac on Monday that he doesn’t agree with the focus of some stories that have targeted Thompson’s shooting slump.
“I’m really kinda dismayed at some of these narratives that start during these playoffs,” Adams said. “Klay has been playing terrific basketball for us. He’s averaging almost six rebounds a game… he’s playing terrific defense. He’s done this for fourteen games in the playoffs, working like crazy defensively and trying to share his offensive load also. In my book he’s been marvelous. Ok, so the ball hasn’t gone in for him in some games. As the press is prone to do, it becomes a cause célèbre and it’s really meaningless as long as our team is functioning well. He’s functioning within that system and doing his job…and he’s been doing it with a great spirit.”
Listen to the full interview below. To listen to Adams’ comments on Thompson skip to the 5:12 mark.
