“Klay has the most humility in a co-star you will ever find, he doesn’t complain” - Skip Bayless believes Klay Thompson is more reliable in the NBA Finals than 8x All-Star
Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the Golden State Warriors were stunned by Al Horford and the Boston Celtics in Game 1. Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless believes that Thompson is more reliable than Curry for the NBA Finals.
On a recent episode of "Undisputed," Bayless and Shannon Sharpe talked about the Celtics' surprising 120-108 win in Game 1.
Boston used a 20-2 fourth-quarter run to steal the victory. Horford led the way with 26 points, while Jaylen Brown and Derrick White added 24 and 21 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Curry led the way for the Warriors with 34 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. He also broke the record for the most 3-pointers made in a quarter. However, it was not enough to get the win. Andrew Wiggins put up 20 points, but Thompson struggled, as did Jordan Poole.
Skip Bayless was disappointed with the Warriors' performance and criticized their play-calling. Bayless wanted Golden State to put the ball in Klay Thompson's hands more because he trusts him more than Steph Curry. He added that Thompson's humility separates him from his superstar teammate, saying:
"I believe that Klay Thompson is more trustable in the NBA Finals than Steph Curry is. What disappointed me last night, especially in the fourth quarter, is that Klay just didn't touch the basketball. ... Steph is going to shoot it a lot more than Klay shoots it."
Skip added:
"Klay has the most humility of any co-star you will ever find because he doesn't complain, he doesn't buck the system. ... Klay needed more shots. He needed more plays called for him trying to get him free of some pin down screen where he can just pop and shoot the Steph memorial three."
"Klay Thompson is more trustable in the NBA Finals than Steph Curry is. What disappointed me in the 4th is that Klay barely touched the basketball, he needed more plays called for him."
— @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/AM6BRCVRKx
Klay Thompson only had 15 points in Game 1. He shot 6-for-14 from the field and was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. In the fourth quarter, Thompson scored just two points on three shots. Skip Bayless was right that Klay barely touched the ball in the final frame.
Can Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the Warriors bounce back?
Game 2 of the NBA Finals is on Sunday at the Chase Center. The Golden State Warriors are in a must-win game because Games 3 and 4 are at the TD Garden in Boston. Even though the Celtics have lost four games already at home this season, they are a very dangerous team.
In a postgame interview, Klay Thompson noted that the loss stings a bit, but they aren't going to panic. The Warriors have been in these situations before, so they will be ready for Game 2. Here's what Klay told reporters (h/t Sports Illustrated):
"It's never fun, and it hurts. On the big stage, obviously. But like Draymond (Green) said, there's no reason to panic. I like our chances still. We'll go home, digest what happened, and I know we'll be better Game 2."