Jalen Rose 'not picking against' Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in Game 7
Steph Curry is considered to be one of the biggest playoff performers in NBA history as he has four championships and one finals MVP to show for it. But in a win-or-go-home situation in a first-round series against the Kings, the Warriors are going to need a special performance from their two-time MVP to finish Sacramento off.
ESPN's Jalen Rose shared his Game 7 pick ahead of tonight's matchup:
"I'm not picking against Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in a Game 7. ... I'd have to bet on the Splash Bros."
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are known as the "Splash Brothers" for a reason. The dynamic duo have a combined 96 wins and 43 losses in the playoffs when the two shooters have played together.
In this first-round series, Steph Curry is averaging 31.0 points on 47.8% shooting, including 37.5% from 3-point range, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds. While for Klay Thompson, he is averaging 21.3 points on 46.5% shooting, including 38.1% from 3-point range, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Throughout their careers together playing for the Warriors, they are no strangers to having their backs against the wall when the pressure arises against stiff competition in the playoffs.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on coming up short in Game 6 and the mindset for Game 7
Following the loss, Steph Curry spoke with reporters about how they weren't able to execute well enough to send the Kings packing home to Sacramento. But he also sounded confident as the team heads into a Game 7 on the road.
“So, I'm not concerned at all," Curry said. "It's just the playoffs presents a lot of challenges and a lot of different scenarios you find yourself in, and you know, the great teams figure it out.”
Curry had 29 points for the game but struggled to shoot the ball at an efficient clip as he went for 9-21 shooting, including 5-12 from 3-point range and even committing five sloppy turnovers.
From Klay Thompson's perspective, he was very candid regarding how the Warriors looked against the young and hungry Sacramento Kings team.
“When I said that was the best win of the season, after Game 5,” Thompson said, “this is probably the worst loss of the season.”
Similar to Curry's Game 6 outing, Klay Thompson also struggled a bit with his 22 points as he shot 8-20, including 2-9 from 3-point range, while committing three turnovers.
For the game, the Warriors shot for 37.2%, including 31.3% from 3-point range along with 18 turnovers. Besides the turnovers, Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned in his post-game interview how displeased he was with the team's shot selection as they lacked composure in executing at that end.
The home team also couldn't contain the Kings' offense as the visiting team was more efficient on offense for 40.4% shooting, including 37.8% from 3-point range.