How good of a Warriors team is Klay Thompson returning to?

The Dubs have lost two in a row, but hope springs forth.

Jan 7, 2022

When Klay Thompson went down in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, I’m sure he was focused primarily on two things: whether his knee was done, and if the Warriors were going to survive without him that night.

His knee? Torn ACL. The Warriors? Lost their bid for a threepeat in the final seconds.

He hasn’t played for the Dubs since, the biggest piece missing from a team that went from dynasty to the lottery in his absence. But his return nears, something that provides some salve for Dub Nation and his teammates after the Warriors lost back-to-back games for the first time this year with last night’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Guru @DrGuru_

Steph had 0 points in the Warriors loss tonight and I haven’t heard anything about it. Imagine if Westbrook did that…

How good of a team is Klay returning to? How good of a job has the Warriors front office done to give Klay the teammates and environment he needs to work his way back into form while competing for his fourth championship?

I’d say pretty darned good, but don’t take my word for it. Here are the stats where the Warriors stand on the potential eve of Klay’s return:

2nd best record in the NBA with two wins over the
top-seeded Phoenix Suns

#1 defensive rating
#1 in defensive field goal percentage
#2 in made 3PT per game
#2 in net rating
#2 in AST per game
#2 in STL per game
#2 in plus/minus
#2 in true shooting percentage
#2 in effective field goal percentage
#7 in 3PT%
#9 offensive rating
#11 in BLK per game

And they turned the Kevin Durant departure into potential All-Star Andrew Wiggins and an athletic freak in Jonathan Kuminga. Not bad.

I’d love to hear from DNHQ about how you’d grade the quality of the team from the night Klay’s career went into jeopardy in Oracle, to where the Dubs stand now.