Warriors Klay Thompson confident icy shooting touch will heat up
BOSTON (CBS SF) -- For Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson it's all about perspective. The rim hasn't change, the ball's the same circumference and his shooting touch is just as dangerous.
So when it comes to his icy shooting so far in the NBA Finals, Thompson remains confident the slump will come to an end.
"When I watched the film, I probably seemed a little rushed. I wasn't underneath my shot," he said during Wednesday's media day in Boston a day before Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Celtics.
Thompson expressed plenty of confidence that he'd be able to shake the cold spell in his shooting.
"This is nothing I'm immune to. I've been through shooting slumps before. The best part is, it's how you respond. Come Game 3, I'll probably not do much differently rather than just play with great pace and pump great shots. When I tend to do that, I tend to have a big night," he said. "Most importantly, feels good going 4-for-19 and winning by 20. I'd rather do that than 13-for-19 and lose by 10. Been there, and that's never fun."
So on Monday, Thompson was consuming YouTube clips of the nights when his shooting touch was deadly.
"That's the beauty of playing in today's age," Thompson explained. "You can go on YouTube and look up all your great moments. For me, it's as recently as round two against the Nuggets, or last round against the Mavs. I haven't had a multiple three-point game throughout the series, but I stuck to the process, eventually I blew the lid off. For me it's about keeping that same mindset of shooters shoot. I'd rather go down swinging than being gun shy."
Fellow "Splash Brother" Steph Curry said Thompson's unpredictability is what makes him some a dangerous threat.
"History with him has shown there's no predictor," Curry told reporters. "He can just take it to another level. Regular season, playoffs, he's always just found a way to get himself going. Especially in the playoffs, just to make an impact that's loud. Usually it's really loud."
"His demeanor never really changes," he continued. "It's not really something you can just look at and be, oh... if you saw him now, you'd think he's averaging 50 in this series. He's got just a very confident look about him. That's the best thing about him. It's all about the work you put in, it's about the mindset. He doesn't need any teaching points on that. That's why there's so much confidence that at any moment he can go off."
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr also isn't too concerned.
"I think he's just pressing a little bit," Kerr said. "He just wants so badly to do well that he's taking some bad ones. I'm not particularly concerned about it because this isn't the first time it's happened. Klay has a way of responding to mini slumps or whatever you want to call them. The point of emphasis will be let's make sure we get good rhythm shots early. If we do that individually and as a team, then it puts everybody in a better position. "
Thompson also has gained some additional perspective that he didn't have in past playoffs. He returned this season after being sidelined for 941 days by ACL and an Achilles tendon injuries.
"For what I've been through the last couple years, I will gladly be in this position, especially considering where I was at last year during June. Me and Rick Celebrini in the gym, just two in the arena, it was empty," Thompson said. "There's nobody in the Bay during that time. To be back here on this stage, just got to remind yourself to keep working because it's a blessing and really an honor to be here."