Dubs look rejuvenated out of the break.
It’s been well over 10 months since Klay Thompson last wore a Golden State Warriors uniform. Thompson’s legacy is hard to set aside, let alone erase, despite the acrimonious nature of his exit. In several ways, his presence still looms large over the franchise, like a spirit that still haunts the halls of Chase Center, a constant reminder of how valuable he was for the franchise — and how crucial he was to his Splash Brother, Steph Curry, in more ways than one, both on and off the court.
Based on how much the Warriors have struggled to generate efficient offense this season, the former has been more pronounced than ever. Despite Thompson’s later years with the Warriors being the version that was several steps slower and a couple years older, Thompson’s reputation as perhaps the second-greatest shooter of all time behind Curry still preceded itself. No other Warrior on the roster was capable of drawing two to the ball — while also finishing the advantages Curry created, both on and off the ball.
Without Thompson — and before the acquisition of Jimmy Butler — no other Warrior could capably fill the role of the second banana. As a result, the Warriors’ offense became greatly famished. Curry could not do everything by himself, more so that his 36-year-old body has shown signs of wear and tear. The only other option left was counting on a bunch of bananas — i.e., scoring by committee. That approach, as expected, hasn’t gone all that well in the aggregate.
Not when there was a lack of someone who could capably fill Curry’s shoes during non-Curry segments, as Thompson was able to do — albeit in spurts — both as an off-ball target dashing around pindowns and staggers, and as an on-ball pick-and-roll ball handler — a role he was able to perform quite decently despite his unreliable handle. It was good enough for Steve Kerr to dedicate a pick-and-roll set for Thompson:
Take note of the setup in the instance above: Thompson doesn’t bring the ball down and call for a screen like a traditional spread or “Angle” pick-and-roll. Instead, Thompson starts off the ball, comes off of a screen at the elbow by Draymond Green (called an “out” screen), and receives the ball on the right slot area. Green then comes over to set the ball screen with three shooters stretching the floor — making it hard to send a third defender over to help on the 2-on-2 action. Anthony Davis comes up to the level of the screen in an attempt to crowd Thompson’s airspace, to no avail. Thompson quickly pulls up and drills the three.
The outcome above was, more often than not, the exception. The “Klay Play” typically resulted in aggressive coverages against Thompson in the form of hard hedges and outright traps. Teams were counting on Thompson being less effective as a passer against aggressive coverages compared to Curry — and were more than happy to risk being put in rotation to coax a bad decision out of Thompson. That was something the Sacramento Kings chose to do against Thompson during their Game 7 battle in the 2023 Playoffs.
With the same play being called for Thompson, the Kings opt to aggressively crowd Thompson around the screen:
In contrast to what the Los Angeles Lakers did, the Kings aggressively send two to the ball against Thompson. Instead of forcing the pass to Kevon Looney in the short roll with hands and arms draped all over, Thompson chooses the nearest option in Andrew Wiggins. At the same time, Looney’s roll toward the paint draws in the low man, while Moses Moody “shakes” or lifts up to the wing to create separation between himself and the low man. Wiggins sees Moody open and skips the ball toward him, with Moody comfortably pulling up for the three.
Despite Thompson no longer plying his trade in the Bay Area, the Warriors have kept the play that catered specifically to him, with Curry playing the role of Thompson. In theory, Curry should be a better pick-and-roll operator and should be better equipped to handle the aggressive coverages thrown his way. Curry has largely been able to get the ball to the short roll in this particular setup; the problem comes when the ball finds its way to a teammate left open as a result of the trap up front. Good looks have been created aplenty this season, but the lack of a second banana — and perhaps, the lack of confidence rooted in the fact that there was no second banana — has had the downstream effect of finishing impotence, both from long range and most especially at the rim.
When the finishing is there, however, things look incredibly different. When the Warriors run the “Klay Play” against the Kings anew during their 132-108 drubbing of their Northern California rivals, Curry uses a particular hand signal to call it out:
“Scissors” flows into Curry coming off of the “out” screen by Looney. The Kings — continuing their “anyone but Curry” coverage that was implemented by former head coach Mike Brown — send two to the ball. This puts the Kings in rotation once Curry passes out of the trap. Having to constantly rotate in order to plug potential gaps created by the trap up front can be a tedious and tiring exercise — especially if the offense knows how to take advantage.
In this instance, the Warriors knew how to take advantage:
Buddy Hield driving, drawing the defense in, relocating, and finishing the created advantage is what the Warriors have been looking for all season long but — up until the Butler acquisition — have been glaringly bereft of. Butler has indeed been a significant piece of the puzzle in connecting the dots between advantage creation and finishing, but it was also a simple matter of the Warriors pushing the play-better button across the board.
The anyone-but-Steph-Curry strategy works when it’s only Curry who can be counted on to score. This time, however, “anyone” was scoring. Sometimes, it was Hield; other times, it was Moody:
Or Green — courtesy of setting wide pindown screens for Curry:
But the presence of a bona-fide second banana — one who could score and use the threat of his scoring to create looks for teammates — was more than welcomed:
Thompson is long gone, but he will return on Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks visit Chase Center. Coincidentally, it will be the night when the Warriors retire Andre Iguodala’s no. 9. In several ways, Butler is a reflection of what Iguodala once provided: the connective glue that served as the link between creation and finishing. Butler adds the element of being a legitimate scoring threat; everyone else not named Curry is counted on to fill the gaps, especially the scoring deficiency that was created from the hole left behind by Thompson’s departure.
“Scissors” is a perfect representation of the legacy Thompson left behind — and also a stark reminder of how crucial it is for everyone to feast off of Curry and Butler’s advantage creation.