The Miami Heat were hoping that Klay Thompson could turn back the clock this season and be a key floor spacer for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Instead, the Heat have already benched Thompson, and it’s just five games into the season.
To be clear, the Heat didn’t bench Thompson entirely. He played 17 minutes on Wednesday night.
But as the Heat beat the Hawks 129-117 for their first win of the season, Thompson sat out the last 16-plus minutes.
Why Heat Benched Klay Thompson
The Heat simply haven’t been getting enough from Thompson in the early going of this season.
They started 0-4 as Thompson struggled. He was averaging 9.0 points through four games while shooting 32.4% from the field, along with 33.3% from 3-point range.
Thompson isn’t the defender he once was, either, so he has to be making shots to remain effective.
He began Wednesday night 1-for-4 from the field — all on 3-point attempts. Thompson also had one rebound, two assists and one block. He was a plus-2.
With 4:27 left in the third quarter, the Heat pulled Thompson for Dru Smith.
Thompson didn’t come back in the game.
There were no reports of an injury. At least for the rest of this game, he had been benched.
Klay Thompson Replacement
While it was Dru Smith who subbed in directly for Thompson to end his night, it was really Pelle Larsson who made Thompson irrelevant on this night.
Larsson had his best game off the bench so far this season with a fantastic line of 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Larsson shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, while making 3-of-4 free throws. The well-rounded Larsson played 31 minutes, many in place of Thompson.
The Heat also got 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench from Tim Hardaway Jr., who shot 6-for-10 (2-for-3 from 3).
The Heat won’t care which of their players is the one who produces on the perimeter. They need floor-spacing and playmaking out of spread-out sets to create room for Antetokounmpo and Adebayo to operate — both guys who like to attack the basket and are better on the inside.
Andrew Wiggins made 4-of-7 3s on Wednesday night, which also helped the Heat get their first win of the season.
This was really about the decision to sit Thompson and play Larsson, though — if the young Pelle Larsson can be a difference maker, the Heat can get back on track in a hurry, even if it’s bad news for Thompson’s role.
Why Heat Benched Klay Thompson With No Injury