Getty Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have been on a roll lately. They have struggled for a lot of the season, hovering around the .500 mark all year, but have now won five games in a row – all at home. Unfortunately, that’s where the potential issue lies, as the Warriors have been elite at home but terrible on the road.
So far this year, Golden State is 27-7 at home and just 7-23 on the road. And now, eight of their next 10 games will be on the road. However, according to Klay Thompson, they are feeling good as they embark on their upcoming road trip.
“I am very confident,” Thompson said about heading out on the road, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I just know we have been trusting each other more, we’ve been talking, and our communication has been great. We’ve got some great defenders. So I’m confident we’ll have the same effort on the road.”
Thompson has spearheaded this recent Warriors surge, as they have been dealing with multiple absences. Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins have both missed significant time, but Thompson has stepped up. He’s dropped 20 or more points in four of the last five games, including a 30-ball and a 40-ball.
He says that the Warriors are finally settling into their roles and are feeling good heading into the home stretch of the season.
“Guys have figured out their roles and I think we are in great condition,” Thompson said. “We are having fun, above all. … You realize how important all these games are from here on out. We want to do everything we can to have home court, especially in the first round. So, it’s a great challenge and it’s there for us to take.”
The final stretch of the season will decide the Warriors fate this year, as it could determine whether or not they are a top playoff team or fighting in the Play-In Tournament.
Stephen Curry Return Date Revealed
While Thompson’s impressive stretch of play has been a welcomed sight for the Warriors, if they want to be at their best, they need Curry back. Luckily for them, that’s exactly what they’re getting. According to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report, Curry is set to return to action this Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Golden State star Stephen Curry (leg) intends to make his return on Sunday on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers barring a setback, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport,” Haynes tweeted.
CJ McCollum Sounds Off on Warriors
In other news, after the Warriors’ recent win over the New Orleans Pelicans, star guard CJ McCollum sounded off on Golden State. He explained what went wrong for his squad, crediting the Warriors’ historical success in third quarters over the years.
“I mean, whenever you lose, it’s not ideal. But I mean, we competed,” McCollum said via the Pelicans’ official YouTube channel. “We gave ourselves a chance. A couple plays that didn’t go our way down the stretch, but all in all, I mean, you give up 108 points. Twenty-six in the fourth. That second quarter hurt us. [In the] third quarter, the Warriors are very good. Historically, they go on runs in the third quarter. I mean, we only give up 28 points. But I think for us, it’s just about executing, trying to get stops, and then, when you’re playing against a team like that, you can’t give them two and three opportunities to score. It’s hard enough to stop them the first time, and then when they get kick-out threes, I think that makes it difficult. But all in all, I think we gave ourselves a chance. We just gotta get more stops, we got to play with more force, and we got to execute better.”