Getty Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson reacts following a playoff bout with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wednesday’s altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole may be stealing the headlines now, but there are definitely other things going on in the Golden State Warriors‘ corner of the hardwood universe. Klay Thompson’s failure to appear in any of the team’s preseason games probably tops the list.
It’s a situation that has persisted to the time of this writing — when the Dubs hit the court at Chase Center for a bout with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Thompson was on the sidelines once again.
And while fans are probably more concerned about the fallout from the punch heard ’round the Bay, there’s also a palpable level of concern over Thompson, his health and his status for Golden State’s season opener against the Lakers on October 18.
With that in mind, Warriors coach Steve Kerr updated the current situation with his star two-guard ahead of the contest.
Optimism Abounds Regarding Klay’s Opening Night Availability, But…
Probed for his accounting of where Thompson is at in his return-to-play process, Kerr served up the following rundown:
“A lot of court work, a lot of work in the training room, the weight room. I think the trainers are feeling really good about his progress. So, all signs are positive and we’ll continue to take it day by day.”
When pressed for more information about the baller’s expected availability, the Warriors play-caller expressed optimism that fans would see him in the lineup for Game No. 1. He left the door open for Thompson to come back before the regular season tips off, too.
However, he stopped well short of offering any assurances about either outcome.
“I think he’ll be ready to go opening night. I didn’t say, ‘I know he will,’ I said, ‘I think he will,’ and we’ll see how the next nine days go,” Kerr declared. “The hope would be that he could play an exhibition game, maybe the last exhibition game. But we can’t determine that now. It has to be determined when the time comes.”
This much is certain — Poole took advantage of his latest opportunity as the fill-in starter. In 23 minutes of action against LA, the young wing dropped a team-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added six assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block.
Klay’s Long & Winding Road Continues
When Thompson returned to play 32 regular season games and 22 playoff bouts as a 20 PPG scorer and 38.5% shooter from deep last season, it was thought that his long injury nightmare was finally over.
Unfortunately, some of the mental scars that remained from his ordeal impacted his offseason process. Which, in turn, has affected his ramp-up to the current campaign.
“I didn’t play much this summer,” Thompson said earlier this month, via ESPN. “With what I went through the last summer, I was healthy, popping my Achilles, it was really hard for me to get out of it, mentally. It’s hard to explain. It’s a mental block or something.
“I’m going to face it one day, but this season was so taxing, just coming back. It was hard to win a championship and then play [pick-up] a month later.”