Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson’s slow start a cause for concern

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is off to a slow start to the season – is there reason to be concerned?

For the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors, all that matters is that they’ve found ways to win their first two games. Hasn’t always been pretty, hasn’t always been textbook, but they’ve gutted out two wins to start this season, as they try to motor toward a third straight title.

The problem is, the first two games have been a slog for this Warriors team. They’ve had to make up ground quickly in the late stages of the game, narrowly pulling out a win in both. And it’s not like they’ve been playing the NBA elite.

Through two games, they’ve downed a scrappy Thunder team by eight points, and just barely squeaked by an even scrappier Jazz team by one – winning that game on a putback by Jonas Jerebko with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

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So far, the only consistent player in a Golden State uniform has been Stephen Curry. Kevin Durant has chipped in, but even he’s been a bit inconsistent, going nine-of-21 against the Thunder (27 points), before rebounding with a 14-of-25 game against Utah, and dropping in 38 points.

While Curry is being Curry, and Durant is rounding back into his usual form, Draymond Green has been a bit off the mark, going seven-for-20 (16 total points this season), but has contributed mightily, defensively speaking.

If there is one Warriors player who is a cause for concern in this young – infant, really – season so far, it’s Klay Thompson.

Through two games, Thompson has been off the mark. To say the least. What makes it concerning, is that he is usually one of Golden State’s most reliable, steady shooters, and scorers. Alongside Curry and Durant, Thompson is perhaps, the biggest piece of Golden State’s offense.

This team relies on him. Relies on his shooting touch, and scoring acumen. The rely on his steady hand, and need him for this Warriors offensive machine to be firing on all cylinders. He’s an important part of what they do, and when he doesn’t show up, the team struggles.

As has been evidence by the first two games of this very young season.

Through two games this season, Thompson has been all but invisible. Worse, he’s been something of an offensive liability. Against the Thunder in the season opener, Thompson went five-for-20 (one-for-eight from beyond the arc), and scored 14 points. Against Utah, he didn’t fare all that much better, going four-for-nine (zero-for-two from beyond the arc), in scoring 12 points.

Which, makes him – for the season – nine-for-29 (31 percent from the field), and a surprising one-for-10 from behind the arc (10 percent).

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Slow starts are nothing new to Thompson. He started off the first two games of the 2015-16 season shooting 39 percent (seven-of-18) from the field, and one-of-seven from beyond the arc. In 2016-17, he was a bit better, as through the first two games of the year, he shot 48 percent (16-of-33) – though a pedestrian three-of-15 from three point range.

Last season though, he seemed to be finding his way out that early season rut, shooting 56 percent from the field (19-of-43), and an impressive 11-of-20 (55 percent), from three-point range.

Thompson’s numbers are down across the board – significantly in some cases – from his career numbers. For his career, Thompson is shooting 46 percent from the field, and 42 percent from behind the arc (compared to his 31 percent from the field, 10 percent from behind the arc marks to start this season).

His career scoring average is a tick over 19 points per game – six points more than he’s averaging so far this season. He’s also averaging just half an assist per game – down from almost 2.5 per game for his career.

Slow starts haven’t been completely uncommon over the course of his career. But through two games this season, Thompson hasn’t quite looked like himself on the court.

With two subpar performances to start the year, some might wonder if his contract situation is becoming something of a distraction for him, in only in his own mind. He’s an unrestricted free agent following the season, and he stands to make a lot of money on the open market.

By staying with Golden State, he could possibly be leaving $80 million dollars or so, on the table. By leaving the Warriors though, he may be sacrificing his spot in a dynasty that doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.

Whatever the reason, it’s something of a cause for concern. The Warriors need Thompson – as well as everybody else in a Golden State uniform – to play at typical levels, to keep the Warriors juggernaut rolling.

Through two games, we’ve seen what happens when that machine has a slight wrench thrown into it. The result isn’t exactly pretty.

While it’s true that you don’t get style points, and all that matters is getting that W. And the Warriors have scrapped and clawed their way to back-to-back W’s to open the season.

But, it’s clear that the machine isn’t working at optimal capacity. It’s equally clear that something isn’t quite right with Thompson at the moment. And if the Warriors want to make a run at a third straight title, they’re going to need him to figure it out PDQ.