The great night ofKlay Thompsonagainst the Indiana Pacers revealed how hungry the Golden State Warriors are.
Klay Thompson, of theGolden State Warriorsdidsomething unique yesterday —he poured in 60 points in just 29 minutes. He remained on the bench in the fourth quarter, watching his teammates play out garbage time.
For the night, Thompson shot 21/33 from the field, dropping in eight three pointers. The types of shots he took were different. He shot 8/13 on catch-and-shoot chances, 5/7 on cuts, twice on drives, twice on the pull-up and once on a bridge hesitation (like a catch-and-shoot, but the shot is not taken immediately). He scored an average of 7.2 points per minute.
As a point of comparison to show how great Thompson’s night was, whenKobe Bryantscored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, he finished the third quarter with 53 points. And inWilt Chamberlain‘s famous 100 point game, he scored an average of 2.08 per minute.
Blue Man Hoop
But, that’s not all. The shooting guard got the ball for just 88.4 seconds,touching it for 52 times. In other words, he had the ball for a minute and a half, keeping the ball for 1.70 seconds for each touch. Usually, one team realizes 3-4 offensive actions in one minute and a half.
Only 29 times in Warriors history, has a player scored at least 60 points in a game.Joe FulksandRick Barrymade it once, whileWilt Chamberlain27.
To achieve that type of performance, Thompson needed the help of his teammates — and they assisted him perfectly. In fact, Thompson was assisted by seven different teammates, withStephen Curryleading with six assists.
But it’s not only Klay Thompson that has impressed this season. Everybody knows the Golden State offense is lethal. Against the Phoenix Suns, the offense showed an extraordinary offensive efficiency. Golden State’s two forwards dished out 20 assists (Draymond Green12,Kevin Durant8),the best result since 1970-1971.
Kevin Duranthad a great night.He scored more than 20 points, making all nine of his attempts from the free throw line, and had just one turnover – that’s only a 16.2 usage rate. Durant’s 91.2 true shooting percentage tonight boosted him to 68.0 on the season, which moves him back into the top spot on the season (Patty Mills is No. 2 at 67.8).
Durant leads his team with 27.3 points per game butleads his team (and the entire NBA) in scoring efficiently.
Draymond Greenhowever is showing to be an exceptional defender and he is a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year. His biggest rivals areKawhi Leonard, the winner last year, andLeBron James, of the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green is 11th inDefensive Rating, with 99.0 points allowed per 100 possessions. At the top, there isAndre Drummondwith 94.7 points allowed. Green is also 8th inDefensive Win Shareswith 1.3, whileAndre Drummond1.6. Drummond could be an outsider for the DPOY, but he plays for a team that it isn’t a competitor and that could penalize him.
However, the players aren’t the only ones shining these days.Steve Kerrconfessed he used potagainst his back pain during the last season revealed this coach is unconventional. His support of Colin Kaepernick over the last few weeks, and his ability to talk about everything has endeared Kerr to the media.
Next: The Golden State Warriors Back In Bay Area After Perfect Road Trip
The Warriors PR staff is said to be the best in the business, providing a lot of space to the journalists and creatinga positive vibe into the environment. The Bay Area currently is the Basket Capital despite the Finals loss the last year. Everyone looks to what happens here, trying to understand what they can imitate and what they can implement, recognizing the Warriors are a point of reference for everybody.
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