While the NBA playoffs thus far have proven a showcase for the talents of Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, his backcourt mate Klay Thompson shone brightest in Wednesday night's upset over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
When Warriors head coach Mark Jackson called Curry and Thompson the best shooting backcourt in NBA history during the quarterfinal round, he was met with little resistance, due to the reverence NBA fans have for Curry's shooting prowess.
The second half of that tandem, though, is rapidly approaching Curry's level. Thompson was drafted by the Warriors out of Washington State University with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft. In two years time, no player aside from Kyrie Irving, the top pick in the 2011 class, has been as essential to his team's success as Thompson. Interestingly enough, none of the 10 players chosen ahead of Thompson, including Irving participated in this year's postseason.
This year Thompson's scoring jumped four points, from 12.5 per game to 16.6. Thompson added an extra rebound to his per game total and maintained a 3-point percentage above 40 percent despite jacking up an extra two treys per game.
Thompson was third in the NBA in 3-pointers made (211) behind Ryan Anderson (213) of the New Orleans Pelicans and his teammate Curry (272). He was also third behind the same two players in 3-point shots attempted.
In a league that has drifted away from dominant, oversized big men clogging the post, slashing wings with the ability to pass to open shooters have become paramount to success. In Golden State, they are hoping rookie swingman Harrison Barnes can become that devastating slasher, with two of the premier shooters waiting beyond the arc for the ball.
Curry and Thompson have terrorized defenses to the point that quotes like this are being uttered by the historically stoic and gruff Gregg Popovich: "I thought it was polite of (Curry and Thompson) to at least take turns and not both be on fire on the same night," Popovich said. "Maybe the next iteration (of that) will be neither one of them will be hot in Game 3; that's what I'm hoping."
Game 3 of the Warriors series with the San Antonio Spurs will take place in Oracle Arena in Oakland at 9:30 p.m on Friday.
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