Kurtenbach: Klay Thompson is all the way back
Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson missed time, but he hasn't lost a
step. Plus: Jonathan Kuminga continues to impress and the Warriors' lack
of size isn't an issue at all.
>Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, left, shoots the ball over
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams in the first half of an NBA
basketball game, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle
Phillips)
>Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, left, shoots the ball over
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams in the first half of an NBA
basketball game, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle
Phillips)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: February 8, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. | UPDATED: February 8, 2022 at
1:51 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/08/kurtenbach-klay-thompson-is-all-the-way-back/

The Warriors were choking away the game.

What was once a 16-point lead had dwindled to 5.

The game was being played in the half-court for the Warriors and the
full court for their opponent. The Oklahoma City Thunder were creating
turnovers and running against a Dubs team that wished it could do the same.

It seemed like Golden State was going to be overtaken just before the
finish line.

But the Warriors were in Oklahoma City, and that’s Klay Thompson’s house.

A regular-season game in February is nothing like a Game 6 of the
Western Conference Finals, but Thompson doesn’t take games off against
the Thunder.

Whatever it is in that arena — the energy, the sight-lines, the rims —
Thompson can’t help but hit clutch shots in OKC.

Monday night it was two big 3-pointers in the final 150 seconds to lift
the Warriors to a 110-98 win over the Thunder.

Thompson might have missed two-and-a-half years because of two massive
leg injuries, but he is rounding into his old — no, his new and improved
form.

>(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Monday was just the latest reassurance. The Thunder might be a shell of
the team they once were, but Thompson — like riding a bike — can still
bring lightning to the Plains.

And here comes the real fun part: Thompson has proven over the last
month that his legs are under him. Offensively, he hasn’t missed a beat.
The minutes are just going to go up and up and up.

And the shots will keep going down.

Monday, Thompson played 29 minutes — a season-high.

It won’t be long until he goes above 30 minutes. The restriction on his
minutes will be lifted entirely soon after that.

“It’s just to have him back. He looks great out there. He’s moving
great. It’s fun to be able to play him 29 minutes — we’ll bump that up,”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the win. “I think it’ll start to be
a cleaner rotation from here on out. We won’t have to think about it…
More fluid, I should call it.”

Thompson might not be the dogged on-ball defender he once was — that
part of his game is likely behind him for good. But the Warriors don’t
need that from him anymore. That’s Andrew Wiggins’ purview now.

But Thompson is a floor-spacer of the highest order and that could
provide the Dubs one of the few things they have truly needed all
season: a reliable second offensive option next to Steph Curry,
patricianly in late-game situations.

It sure looked that way Monday, at least. When the Warriors needed a
basket, Curry had the ball in his hands and attacked the defense with
either a high screen or an isolation look that pulled defenders his way.

Both times, Curry’s pull left Thompson wide open at the top of the key.
Both times Thompson knocked down the shot.

Everyone expected those Thompson shots to fall. He’s the greatest
catch-and-shoot player of all time and he was getting perfect passes in
perfect spots on the floor. To presume the Splash Brother’s jumper would
be wet is more than fair.

Wiggins and Jordan Poole were on the floor for those clutch shots. I
wouldn’t be surprised if that remains the case all the way through the
playoffs. Spacing is everything in the modern game and those two players
provide plenty.

But Thompson makes the most of that spacing in a way neither Poole nor
Wiggins can.

Add in Thompson’s amplified ability to put the ball on the floor
post-absence and the Warriors have one dangerous closing four. It’s just
missing a Draymond Green.

That’s a conversation down the line.

In the meantime, consider this a celebration for Warriors fans and a
warning for the rest of the league.

Thompson might have lost some time, but he hasn’t lost a step.

>(Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

» Jonathan Kuminga is here, and he’s not going away.

The last three games have been checkpoints for the 19-year-old rookie
from the Congo. – three of the NBA’s worst teams, three contests to
really push him.

It’s beyond debate that Kuminga has impressed and earned more playing time.

The only question now is how this will translate against the NBA’s best
teams.

Let’s run through the numbers over the last three: 17.6 points, 4.5
rebounds, 2.5 assists per game on 60 percent shooting in 26 minutes per
contest.

Yes, that’ll do.

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Monday, against an OKC team where K stands for kids, Kuminga went for 16
points, four rebounds, and four assists in 23 minutes. It was a stellar
performance. Kuminga was the best player on the court for large
stretches of the game, helping the Warriors’ bench outscore the
Thunders’ 46-21.

With Green and Nemanja Bjelica out, and Andre Iguodala leaving Monday’s
game after six minutes with lower-back tightness, there are minutes both
at wing and the five to be had over the five games before the NBA
All-Star break.

The Warriors need to run Kuminga for 20 minutes in each of those games.

For all the numbers, what most impressed Kerr on Monday night was, of
course, a screen.

“He set a beautiful screen for Jordan and Jordan went in for a dunk,”
Kerr said. “What I loved about that possession is that earlier, he had
the ball and got it out of his hands quickly and set the screen. It was
everything we preach on a daily basis… He’s starting to feel more and
more comfortable with what we’re trying to accomplish on the floor.”

>(Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

» The Warriors didn’t play a perfect game Monday. Far from it.

And for folks who want the Warriors to add another big to the fold in
the coming weeks, the Warriors’ performance against the Thunder will be
surely cited as a reason why.

The Warriors were rocked on the glass Monday. Oklahoma City pulled down
three times as many offensive rebounds as Golden State — 18 to 6.

It was a huge reason why the game was close late.

With only one true center on the roster — Kevon Looney — the Warriors
are going to give up size to nearly every team in the NBA.

But Kerr didn’t blame the lack of inches, he blamed the lack of effort
for the rebounding differential, saying that when teams play small they
have to be proactive rather than reactive.

He thought the Warriors were reactive Monday.

I agree with him.

The Warriors have more advantages than disadvantages by playing small.
That’ll be true for the rest of the season and beyond.

If the Warriors bring energy to the glass and are still getting worked,
then a conversation is warranted. But I doubt such a day comes —
rebounding has never been a matter of sheer physicality, it’s a matter
of want.

The Thunder were more aggressive on the glass Monday. I doubt the
Warriors repeat their lackluster effort against the Jazz on Wednesday.