NBA 2022: Stephen Curry on Klay Thompson's struggles in the Finals
First Published Jun 8, 2022, 1:14 PM ISTIn a recent interview, Stephen Curry talked about fellow "Splash Brother" Klay Thompson's struggles in the NBA Finals.
In a recent interview, Stephen Curry talked about fellow "Splash Brother" Klay Thompson's struggles in the NBA Finals.
Klay Thompson has shot 13 points per game on a 30% field goal percentage and a 27% three-point percentage throughout the two NBA 2022 Finals games. His back-court partner Stephen Curry is not concerned about this, though. In a recent interview, Curry said he expects Klay to bounce back while acknowledging how well the Celtics have guarded the sharpshooter. Curry expects Thompson to bounce back and have a signature clutch performance at some point in the series.
In an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, Curry said, "It's tricky. It's like you don't tell Klay Thompson to do anything different. He's Klay Thompson. We've seen it year after year after year. We've seen him impact series with breakout games. He's got the nickname 'Game 6 Klay' for a reason."
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"So, there's nothing really about his confidence or anything you need to say to him. It's just a matter of understanding how Boston's defending him [Thompson] and where he can let the game come to him a little bit. They know what he's capable of, and they send a lot of attention," Curry added.
"So, whether he's getting many shots early or late or whenever it comes in the game, be ready for his moment because he knows it's coming. I'm not a real gambling man throughout a series, but I would put a lot of money on Klay's going to have his moment, shine, and impact the series in a significant way," concluded Curry.
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Thompson does have a record of coming up clutch in crucial games. "Game 6 Klay" was born when Klay scored 41 points to give the Warriors a vital win in Oklahoma City and tie the series back in 2016. With the season on the line in Game 6 in NBA 2019 against the Raptors, Klay was on fire with a game-leading 30 points in three quarters.
However, an ACL injury shattered Thompson and the Warriors' hopes. This injury (and a re-aggravation) would keep Klay out of NBA action for over 900 days. Klay has managed to turn back the clock in this post-season and came up huge in the closeout Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Thompson had a game-leading 32-point game on very efficient shooting to seal a finals spot for the Warriors.