Before the game between the Warriors and Toronto Raptors on Friday, Klay Thompson was on the track at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, working on a version of his jump shot that shortens the actual jump party.
It was a face that Warriors fans longed for. Watching half of the Splash Bros. recording is therapeutic for Dub Nation, and it was greatly missed when Thompson recovered from a second leg injury on the season.
But there was nothing calming about what happened when the Warriors and Raptors started playing. Without Steph Curry and Draymond Green, who suffered injuries, Golden State was lightning through Toronto, with as many as 61 points – yes, sixty-one – and eventually lost by 53 points, 130-77.
While Curry and Green addressed their teammates after recent losses, it was Thompson whose voice was heard by a few teammates after the game on Friday.
“It’s a hard pill for them to swallow,” veteran guard Kent Bazemore told reporters after the game during a video conference call. ‘You’re talking [them] … and Klay. Klay was there again. These guys played five consecutive finals. This is not acceptable to them at all. It hurts them more than anything. Klay was fired after the game. It was the hardest two years his guys out there watched and couldn’t help it, so I think it lit a fire under him and Steph and Draymond, they know how important that is to us. ‘
Bazemore, who had three points, three rebounds and one assist within 15 minutes, offered more on what Thompson said.
“He just went on about missing the game, and it’s just not acceptable to lose like that,” Bazemore said. “He was just fired. He’s fired, man. It’s hard to see if you’re playing or not, just sitting there. As a competitor you want to be there … It’s hard to explain.”
The rookie Nico Mannion gets his first taste of the NBA, and there are some bitter sips. While Thompson’s words were not directed at the second round of concept selection, Mannion was able to provide more context.
“I do not know if I was there when Klay said anything, so I really do not know what the message was,” Mannion told reporters. ‘I got it from the [hallway] a little, just to talk, we need to have a little more heart, with which I agree 100 percent. ‘
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At 23-26, the Warriors run the risk of missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. They still have a chance to qualify for the Western Conference tournament, but even that does not seem to be happening with the way they play.
All Thompson can do is watch. He is progressing in his rehabilitation of a torn Judge Achilles, but he will not be able to help the Warriors on the field this season.
It’s Curry, Green, Bazemore, Mannion and the rest of the available Warriors to figure things out and turn the ship in the right direction.
If Thompson has to speak again before the end of the season, it’s a sign that the Warriors have not got back on track.