Reports: Klay Thompson to miss weeks of action with injury
What's the story?
Golden State Warriors' shooting guard Klay Thompson sprained his right thumb in the game against Minnesota Timberwolves last Sunday. Recent reports now suggest that the Warriors' sharpshooter could face weeks on the sidelines with a possible fracture on the same thumb.
In case you didn't know...
Klay Thompson was seen addressing a problem in his right hand towards the end of the second quarter in the game against the Timberwolves. Thompson tried to intervene a Jeff Teague drive to the basket and it was then when he initially injured his right thumb. In spite of this, he played through the game on Sunday.
The heart of the matter
Klay Thompson will miss the next set of games with his thumb injury. He is set to be re-evaluated next week and only post that will a possible timeline be set for his return. However, the injury is not supposed to linger as per reports.
Thompson is undeniably an important player for the reigning NBA champions. Given the fact that Stephen Curry is also out for the time being with an ankle injury which will keep him out of action for another week at the bare minimum, the Dubs will have much to ponder with respect to squad rotations for the upcoming games.
Thompson is the second-best three-point shooter in the league so far with an accuracy of 44.2 percent from beyond the arc and also features in the top five of the league in terms of three-pointers made this season with 206. Thompson is also a decent defender, having contributed a total of 46 steals this season.
Thompson has only missed one game due to injury so far this season but only time will tell how many more matches he will be sitting out in the coming days.
The Warriors are currently embroiled in a tussle for the first seed in the Western Conference with the Houston Rockets who currently occupy the top spot and recently had a run of 17 consecutive wins. Losing another key player in Thompson to injury will not help the cause of the Warriors as they look to reclaim the crown in the West.
What's next?
Warriors (51-16) will be looking to get right back on track after the loss to the Timberwolves as they host the Los Angeles Lakers (31-36) who recorded a win over the Denver Nuggets last night. Following this, they play the Sacramento Kings (21-47) at the Oracle Arena on Friday which appears as a routine win for the Dubs on paper.
Author's take
Klay Thompson is undeniably a key figure in the Warriors' roster. Losing him to a long-term injury could be detrimental to Golden State's campaign. Warriors already trail James Harden and the Rockets (53-14) by two games. However, they face rather easy opponents in the next few games with the exception of the San Antonio Spurs and should be able to manage without their best three-point shooter.
However, if Thompson's injury persists for a long duration, it could cause real harm to the Dubs' championship quest.