“After those 2 injuries, the dude is still a 5-alarm fire” - Zach Lowe praises Klay Thompson, says the Warriors are the biggest threat to Phoenix
Klay Thompson and the success for the Golden State Warrior this season was mentioned during ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday. During the episode, Kendrick Perkins joined Zach Lowe to discuss the Warriors and how much damage they could do in this year's playoffs.
Klay Thompson on fire, Golden State Warriors biggest threat for the Phoenix Suns
Zach Lowe sent some praise to Klay Thompson:
“After those two injuries, the dude is still a five-alarm fire.”
Klay Thompson missed the entirety of the 2019-20 NBA season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Then, in November 2020, he went down with a leg injury during a workout in the offseason. The Warriors were disappointed when it was confirmed that Thompson had suffered a torn right Achilles.
Thompson made his return to the court in January 2022, during a Sunday night 96-82 victory for the Warriors over the Caveliers. Since that game, Klay is averaging 19.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 37.9% from the three.
Having Klay back means the “Splash Brothers” are in full effect again, as Stephen Curry remains on fire this season as well. Curry is averaging 25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. With Thompson back on the court, opponents are afraid to double Steph or pull into his traps because it now means leaving Klay Thompson open. Between the two of them, there really is not a place across the half-court line that they cannot get the ball in from.
Now add fellow three-time NBA champion Draymond Green into the mix. With his notorious playmaking and defense, the squad stands to be a scary threat for anybody that has to face them for a seven-game series. Andrew Wiggins, the younger guard for the Warriors, recently just had his first NBA All-Star appearance. And he was a starter. Thompson, Curry, Green, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr all vouched for his appearance at the game this year.
Wiggins is averaging 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season. Like the trio of Thompson, Curry, and Green needed more help. But they have it, and Wiggins does not let up. He continuously proves that he has a place on that court alongside the three Golden State greats.
With a healthy Klay Thompson playing to the ability that he is, the squad is, of course, a dangerous threat. But as the squad stands in the Western Conference, there stands a point where they are going to have to face the Phoenix Suns, if they wish to make it to the NBA Finals.
Well, that may be a problem. This year's Phoenix Suns just recently set a franchise record for wins, as they stand in first place in the West with 63 wins to a mere 17 losses. In any case, Zach Lowe believes this Golden State squad is the biggest threat to Phoenix.
With Devin Booker and Chris Paul playing the way they have been this year for Phoenix, any team that has to play them in a seven-game series is going to have a tough time. But most teams in the division arguably have players that opponents know how to deal with and isolate. Unfortunately for Phoenix, there is simply no defense to stop a cooking “Splash Brothers."
Klay Thompson had not played a game of basketball since June of 2019 before stepping on the floor last January. Now that he has returned, not only is he inevitably hungry, but so are Curry and Green. The bond the trio shares is a rarity in the league today, and you can bet they are feeding off wanting to show the league their crowns would not have left if not for Klay’s unfortunate bout of injuries.