SUMMARY
- The Golden State Warriors lost 99-109 to the Dallas Mavericks recently.
- Klay Thompson failed to step up for The Dubs once again.
The Golden State Warriors have been struggling on multiple occasions this year and the main problem has been their inconsistencies. The Dubs have enjoyed a streak of wins in between but have failed to keep up that momentum on the road and against the bigger teams above the .500 category. Recently, the Warriors lost 99-109 to the Dallas Mavericks, which wasn’t that surprising considering Steph Curry was on the sidelines.
A few years ago, it would have been bold to claim that the Warriors are incapable of winning without Steph, but it is the harsh truth right now. Klay Thompson, Steph’s ‘Splash Brother,’ has failed to fill in the void left by the all-time great.
Klay has been a shadow of his former self so far this season, although he has shown glimpses of some fight left in him. Steve Kerr has also demoted Klay to the bench but has mentioned that the Warriors need some firepower to come on later in the game as well.
Against the Dallas Mavericks, Klay made only 8 points and 4 rebounds, failing to register a single assist. His FG was 3-13, and he went for 2-7 from the three-point line. Despite being given a starting chance in Steph’s absence, Klay’s performance is a summary of this season, where he has failed to step up for the team. With Steph on the sidelines, the Warriors have a record of 1-5.
Klay Thompson’s matchup vs Luka Doncic
It looks like Klay and Luka Doncic put on a show for fans in the most recent game. The Slovenian superstar’s triple-double streak was snapped but he still made 21 points and 9 assists. Along with Luka, Kyrie Irving also impressed for the Mavs with a double-double, making 23 points and 10 assists. But what may have caught fans’ eyes was the Klay-Luka matchup on two occasions.
LUKA NUTMEG DIME ON KLAY 🍿 pic.twitter.com/MD9KFpcAtO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 14, 2024
In the first quarter, Luka left Klay embarrassed after making a nutmeg pass to Daniel Gafford, who then dunked over Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis. Admittedly, Luka makes it look easy, but it’s not everyday where we witness a 4x NBA champ get fooled by one of the youngest superstars in the league.
Klay went behind-the-back on Luka then hit the 3 😱 pic.twitter.com/yTYQfzq29W
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 14, 2024
But Klay got his revenge on Luka in the third quarter. He pulled a behind-the-back move on Luka when the Warriors were down by six, and managed to hit the three-pointer as well.
Klay boasts impressive record despite underwhelming season
It is no secret that Thompson’s performances this year have been subpar. Currently, he is averaging 17.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists, which is quite decent but nowhere near the expectations Klay has set for himself.
Klay Thompson is one of only four players in the NBA this season to reach 200 made threes.
He now has nine such seasons in his career, the second most all-time. pic.twitter.com/1RpZVikAYS
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 13, 2024
Despite this, Klay has recently hit a huge milestone and made 200 three-pointers this season. He is now part of a club that has only four players who have made more than 200 three-pointers. Klay’s current shooting average this year is 41.9 FG% and 38.0 3P%.
The numbers claim that Klay is having a decent season, but the sharpshooter has set some great expectations for himself that he has failed to come close to in recent times. Only time will tell if he manages to get back on track for the Warriors one last time.