The Dallas Mavericks are heading into next season with championship aspirations on their mind. They made the NBA Finals last season and added four-time champion Klay Thompson in the summer. He opened up on how playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving appealed to him as he believes he can help solve the problems that hurt them in the Finals, per qwik11hoops.
“Me playing with Luka and Kyrie, that’s what was attractive, was seeing how especially watching that championship series, I was really shocked to see the chemistry with the teammates. At this point in my career, I might not be able to run as fast as everyone or jump as high, but I can still knock down open shots and I think I can be that missing piece for them.”
“The [defense] can’t guard Kyrie and Luka. They can’t send as many double teams. They gotta worry about playing the backside. With Dereck Lively II, that’s what was also super attractive. Gafford is so good at catching lobs and finishing at the rim… I think we have a chance to do something special and win a championship.”
Klay Thompson answers question during the Hometown Favorites weekend. “How are you going to fit in the Dallas Mavericks lineup with Luka, Kyrie, and Dereck Lively?” pic.twitter.com/sjwFXoG14z
— qwik11hoops (@qwik11hoops) August 29, 2024
Thompson does fix some of the offensive problems the Mavs ran into in the Finals. A Doncic-Irving-led offense can easily outscore 90% of NBA teams because they have to double one of the two, which will lead to an open shot for someone else on the court.
The Celtics had elite defenders who could guard the Mavs backcourt without extra help, leading to minimal shot creation for players like P.J. Washington, who struggled mightily. The Mavericks were held to under 100 points in four of five Finals games, with Doncic being solely responsible for any offensive highlights. Even Kyrie Irving was completely shut down by the Celtics defense.
Klay deliberately chose the Mavs, turning down a bigger offer from the Lakers to join the team. While the smaller media spotlight in Dallas was a big selling point, Klay knows that an offensive threat like him alongside Luka and Kyrie would make the Mavs almost impossible to hold down offensively.
In addition to this trio, Washington has shown that he can go off for big games on his own while the center duo of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II will continue providing explosive vertical spacing, stretching out defenses as much as they can with the shooting talent on the perimeter and the lob-catchers on the inside.
Klay averaged 17.9 points on 38.7% from three on 9.0 attempts per game last season. Even though it was one of the worst seasons of Thompson’s career, one of the major reasons for his struggles was being miscast as a secondary option.
His shooting splits are still elite and could improve drastically as the third option in Dallas behind guards like Doncic and Irving instead of what we saw last season in Golden State, with anyone who isn’t defending Stephen Curry trying their best to disrupt Klay.
As he adjusts into a more skill and age-appropriate role behind two mercurial offensive talents, Thompson will just hope to deliver any time his number is called on.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
